Agent X
by epicfrenchfry
Summary: Alfred is a huge fan of hit TV show Agent X and its lead, Arthur Kirkland, so naturally he's ecstatic to find out that they're coming to New York to film their final season. What he doesn't expect is that they will meet, become friends, and fall in love. But the road to happiness is not a smooth one. Roleplay with 2cute4lyfe. Human AU, Fem!Canada, USUK/UKUS, onesided FrUK, PruCan
1. In Which They Watch The Season Finale

**Hello! This is epicfrenchfry with another new story! This is actually a roleplay I've just started with my very good friend 2cute4lyfe- well, actually, a rewritten version of an old one that we realized was stupid and plotless and decided to fix.**

 **I would like to thank my beta reader, but sadly I do not have one as of yet. If anyone is interested in betaing this story, PM me!**

 **I am writing the parts of the show and therefore the characters in it, and 2cute4lyfe is writing Alfred and Madeline for this chapter, her other roles will come in later!**

 **I do not own Hetalia, yada yada yada...**

 **Hope you enjoy~!**

* * *

Alfred bit the inside of his cheek, nervously awaiting the season finale of his favorite show, Agent X. He was wearing his Superman pajama pants and a t-shirt with Arthur from the show on it.

Madeline brought him a bowl of popcorn. "I'm going to go to bed." She spoke softly and smiled.

Alfred shook his head. "Nooooo," he whined, "watch the ending with me!" He pleaded childishly.

Maddy sighed. "But I don't like your show, and I won't know what's going on."

"Please Maddy, I need emotional support." He pouted, giving her the infamous puppy dog eyes.

Maddy stared at him for a moment and then reluctantly sat down. "Fine." She sighed and put her hair up after handing him the popcorn.

Alfred made some sort of squeal of happiness then started nibbling on the popcorn and the show began.

 **The screen lit up in a faint glow and opened into a dark scene where two young men stood side to side, their hair swirling silently in the dusty breeze. One of them had brown hair with an odd curl and tired leaf green eyes while the other was unique, with snowy white hair and bright crimson eyes filled with misery.**

 **"It's been fun, Lovino." The white-haired man said calmly in a rough German accent.**

 **"It truly has, Gil." The brunet nodded in agreement. "But I'm afraid this is where I must depart." This one was Italian yet the previous cheer was drained from his voice by the recent events.**

 **An English voice narrated solemnly, "Our agency is falling apart at the seams... Matthias and his men have gotten access to leaked information previously kept top-secret and now our very lives are at stake..."**

 **The scene shifted back to Gilbert and Lovino. The two friends shook hands briefly, smiling sadly before Lovino turned away and boarded the waiting helicopter. With a final wave, the Italian agent nodded to the pilot and the helicopter lifted him away from the ruins that were once headquarters. Gilbert looked up at the sky and watched it disappear into the dusk. He stood still for a moment with mixed emotions flickering in his eyes before sliding a leg over his motorcycle and revved the engine, roaring off and sending a cloud of dust across the screen. From this formed jagged words, Agent X, and the theme started to play.**

Alfred's blue eyes flickered with sadness. "Bye, Lovino." He whispered sadly and reached over and grabbed a piece of popcorn and put it in his mouth, eyes glued to the screen as the intro continued.

Madeline wasn't sure what was going on but the man with white hair was quite attractive and his accent was nice, she knew a German man that worked at her hospital but the albino on the screen's accent was richer and more pleasant to the ears.

 **The theme song played through, the English voice from before singing beautifully.**

 _ **"Keep running, on and on and on...**_

 _ **Keep fighting, on and on and on...**_

 _ **Never stop! Never fall! Never disgrace!**_

 _ **I keep going!**_

 _ **And that's what I call tough luck."**_

As the song and opening credits ended, the show faded into commercial.

Alfred closed his eyes to listen to the English voice and when it faded away he pouted. "Why is he so perfect?" He asked, looking up at nothing. "Arthur Kirkland is my idol, my celebrity crush, my favorite musician, and my favorite actor".

Maddy snickered. "I haven't seen you this in love since McDonald's made the steak burger."

Alfred shook his head. "Arthur is better than McDonalds." He smiled dreamily.

Maddy stopped laughing. "Damn... you're head over heels for some guy that's probably straight, probably has a hot model girlfriend, and you probably won't ever meet him." She said.

Alfred shook his head again and looked at his sister. "Nope, he is single, and he has meet and greets." He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Maddy sighed in defeat and nodded "Okay, okay, keep living in your fantasy land." She smiled indulgently.

After a few commercials for fast food restaurants, Planet Fitness, and TV service providers the show was back on.

 **A blond man was running from a gang of men dressed in navy blue jumpsuits chasing after him. The man fired blindly behind him with a hand pistol, taking out a few men but took a bullet in the thigh and fell to the ground. "Dammit," he swore, revealing his French accent. "Antonio... Where are you?" He asked desperately. The goons all smirked and closed in on him.**

Alfred's head quickly snapped back to watch the show and saw Francis running. "Come on Toni!" He mouthed as he saw Matthias's men chase after the Frenchman. Francis wasn't his favorite, obviously, but his character always was insightful, even if he was wimpier than Gil or Arthur.

Madeline raised an eyebrow. Something seemed very familiar about that man, but she couldn't put her finger on it. His long blonde hair was pulled back loosely and some strands hung free. Maddy continued to exam his features but it was slightly difficult because of the fast moving chase scene.

 **"You can kill me but you'll never take us down!" Francis spat, fury gleaming in his bright blue eyes.**

 **The distant roar of a motorcycle brought a smile to his face and he started to laugh. Suddenly, with a quick succession of bangs, the men around him fell to the ground, blood spattering across Francis's prone body and pooling from their punctured bodies. A black motorcycle pulled up next to Francis and the rider lifted his helmet, revealing a tan face and light, cheery green eyes. "Get on! I'm being followed!" He said in a thick Spanish accent.**

 **"Toni!" Francis said in relief. The Spanish agent grabbed his hand and pulled him up, helping him onto the back of the bike and handing him a machine gun.**

 **"Just take out their tires!" Antonio instructed. "Hurry! They're catching up!"**

 **Francis turned toward their pursuers and raised the gun, taking aim.**

Alfred smiled. "What a badass!" He squealed and watched the two ride off into the night.

Madeline watched the Frenchman and saw him shoot at the guys and gasped a little "That's a little violent, don't you think?"

Alfred shushed her even though nobody was speaking.

 **Francis shot out the tires of all of their pursuers and turned around to face the front of the bike. "Done." He panted, wiping sweaty locks of hair out of his face.**

 **"Good. Now call Arthur and tell him what's going on." Antonio handed him a phone but just before Francis could take it Antonio was blasted sideways and the bike swerved, falling over with its lack of a driver. Francis pushed the toppled bike off of him and crawled towards Antonio's body where a large crimson blotch bloomed on his stomach. Antonio's eyes were hazy and he smiled weakly. "Call Arthur... Get help... Lo siento, mi amigo." His eyes slid shut and Francis gasped.**

 **"Toni?" He shook him lightly. "Toni, no! Stay with me! Antonio!"**

Alfred's blue eyes became glassy and tears started streaming down his cheeks.

Madeline pouted as the Spanish man died in the blond's arms. Her eyes also began to water.

 **Even as Francis cried silently, he grit his teeth and picked up his friend, carrying him to the motorcycle and picking that up as well. He kicked down the kickstand and left Antonio propped up on the bike as he went back for the phone. He dialed the first speed dial and put the phone to his ear. The English accent answered with a swift "Antonio? What is it?"**

 **Francis took a deep breath to calm himself and steadied his voice. "It's Francis. Toni's been shot, he needs help ASAP... Where are you?"**

 **There was a short silence on the other end before Arthur replied. "We're at the Roadside Inn. I'll let Sam know, just get here as soon as possible."**

 **"Right." Francis hung up and pocketed the phone. "Hang on, Toni. You'll be okay." But even with his confident words, the Frenchman's eyes held only despair as he started the engine and drove off. With Antonio's mystery shooter nowhere to be seen, Francis was forced to put his revenge on hold.**

Alfred bit his lip hoping Antonio would live, even though a part of him knew he was gone.

Madeline watched as the Frenchman drove holding his friend, rage and sadness in his eyes. It was almost captivating.

 **Francis skidded into the dirt parking lot of an old rundown inn with a grimy neon sign that said 'Roadside Inn'. Francis picked up Antonio bridal style and carried him carefully inside.**

 **A lean young man leaned against the wall with one foot against it and his head tilted down, messy blond hair casting most of his face into shadow. His mouth was set in a heavy frown and his brooding misery was easily broadcast through it. As soon as the heavy wooden door shut behind Francis, he started and looked up, pushing off the wall. He hurried towards them, bright emerald eyes alight with frantic worry.**

 **"Francis! Sam is in the back room, hurry! He doesn't look so good." Arthur instructed quickly. Francis rushed off and Arthur watched them, the frown still marring his otherwise handsome face.**

Alfred watched eagerly; even though he was sad about Antonio, he was giddy to see his favorite celebrity and he smiled at the sight of Arthur.

Madeline saw Arthur and that's the only one she recognized, because of Alfred's magazine clippings and posters.

 **Francis returned from the back room after being shooed out by a disgruntled old man in a doctor's coat. Francis sat down at the bar next to Arthur, who patted his back reassuringly.**

 **The door opened again and two men strode in, the taller with snow white hair and crimson eyes and the shorter with silvery blond hair and dull blue eyes.**

 **"Gil!" Arthur stood up and met his friend at the door. "Where's Lovino? I thought you were with him."**

 **"He ran." Gilbert said bitterly. "They're starting to figure it out, Arthur. We were being targeted and he and Feliciano ran for it."**

 **The shorter man nodded in agreement. "The same thing happened to Feliciano and I. We thought it was odd because we're not usually sought out like that, but Gilbert explained everything to me when we crossed paths on the way here."**

 **"You're kidding, right? They really know? Dammit!" Arthur spat. "Our entire organization and it's us that they go after... Of course. Just our luck. Antonio's been shot, he's in rough shape. The doc is in the back room if either of you need medical attention. You alright, Lukas? You look exhausted."**

 **"I had to walk most of the way until I found Gilbert. My bike was totaled by our attackers." Lukas explained dully. Arthur nodded in understanding.**

 **"Go find a room and rest for a bit." He ordered. Lukas trudged off.**

 **Gilbert's gaze slid past Arthur and landed on Francis, slumped miserably over the bar and had helped himself to a glass of wine. Arthur watched sadly as Gilbert sat next to his friend and the two engaged in quiet conversation. 'It must be hard for them. The three of them have been inseparable for as long as they've been on my team. To suddenly lose Antonio like this... It'd be unbearable.' Arthur's thoughts narrated.**

Alfred pouted at the sad atmosphere surrounding the Frenchman and Gil. Alfred moved the popcorn which had been long forgotten already and hugged his favorite Superman pillow and watched intently.

Madeline smiled when she saw the albino again and then he walked off to Francis, something seemed very familiar about that picture. Long blonde hair sitting at the bar, sadness in the blue eyes, red wine… it was like dejavu hit her.

 **"What if he doesn't make it? This is all my fault." Francis said softly.**

 **"It's not your fault, Francis." Gilbert reassured him. "You had no way of knowing this would happen, there's nothing you could have done to prevent it."**

 **"I could have seen the shooter. At the very least, I could have gotten revenge!" As Francis spoke, emotional music played quietly in the background. "I could have killed the men rather than shoot out their tires, I could have taken the bullet for him, I could have-"**

 **"Stop right there. What was that last one? You could have taken the bullet for him?" Gilbert said disdainfully. "You really think Toni would like that better? You know just as well as I do that he would rather it be him in there than any one of his friends. We all know the risk of being in the agency, yet we all stay with it. Why? To protect the people we love. That's what Antonio was doing. That's why he has that wound. And you know what? I bet he's pretty damn proud too. He saved your life. It could have been you being operated on. But it's not. It's not you, and he must be happy to know that. Who are you to take that happiness away from him?"**

 **All throughout Gilbert's speech, Francis stared at him wordlessly. When he finished, Francis looked down at his wine. Tears pooled in his eyes.**

 **"You're right, Gil. I'm sorry. I just... I just never wanted this to happen again. I never wanted to lose another friend like this."**

Madeline's eyes also teared up and she looked at Alfred. "Who was the other fri-" She was cut off by the boy's favorite pillow being pushed in her face to quiet her.

Alfred on the other hand, was practically sobbing at their conversation, Gil was right, Antonio would be happy that he saved his friend.

 **The doctor stepped out of the back room, pulling bloodied gloves off of his hands. The two men at the bar jumped up and looked at him apprehensively. "Well you're in luck today, kid." The doctor said gruffly. "You're not losing anyone. He's going to be fine, it wasn't nearly as bad as you all thought. The bullet missed his stomach entirely and hit his liver, which was easily taken care of. The bullet punctured, but did not go through so it was a simple matter of stitches after the bullet was removed*. Good lord, you men know how to overreact."**

 **Francis and Gilbert exchanged looks that said they could barely believe it. "He's going to be okay!" Gilbert said excitedly and he smacked Francis's shoulder lightly, tossing aside everything that he had just said.**

 **Francis stood still, eyes wide and a small smile on his face. "He's... Okay."**

 **"Yeah, so let's go!" Gilbert bounced around excitedly next to him. "Let's go see him!" He grabbed Francis's hand and dragged him towards the room where Antonio was resting.**

 **"Hold it there, sonny. He's still out cold, so keep it down. He'll be in a lot of pain when he wakes up. Go easy on him."**

" **Thanks Sam!" Francis and Gilbert both nodded quickly before darting around the doctor and into the room.**

Alfred squealed at the news and took his pillow back, drawn into the sight before him.

Maddy smiled and watched the one known as Gil and how his face lit up with joy.

 **Arthur sank down onto a bar stool and sighed in relief. Sam, who was also the inn owner, shuffled behind the bar and handed Arthur a Captain Morgan spiced rum. Arthur gave a dry smile. "Thanks."**

 **"You look like you need it. No charge." Sam said kindly.**

 **Arthur shook his head and passed five £100 notes** over the bar. "Keep the change. For Antonio, and the drinks I'm sure we'll be having tonight. Thanks for everything, Sam."**

 **"Sure thing, Arthur. You're a good kid." Sam busied himself with tidying up the bar.**

 **Arthur sipped his rum and sighed again. Sam shot him a concerned glance but said nothing. "Sam, when am I going to get my shit together? You said that I'm a good kid, but if that were truly the case then I would be able to protect my men."**

 **"Arthur..." Sam started.**

 **"No, really. I wish I could say this was the first time something like this has happened, but you know as well as I do that that's a blatant lie. You were here for Emil, after all. You were with us when he died."**

 **"Now Arthur, that was more my fault than yours!"**

 **"Don't. Please." Arthur drained his rum and stood up, taking a few steps away. "After this mission, I'm quitting the agency. I think it's better for all of us if I'm not around anymore to endanger my comrades." Arthur said with an air of finality. "I was already planning on quitting before this, but Antonio... He could have died. I can't take much more of this shit. I'm done." With that, the blond strode off. Sam watched him go, stunned.**

 **The show cut to commercials after a shot of Arthur's face, once again miserable and brooding.**

Alfred's happy demeanor quickly fell and his eyes started streaming again, the screen blurred because the tears covered his vision. He squeezed his pillow tightly, trying to hold in his sadness at the news.

Madeline was indifferent and actually in a decent mood, but she heard quiet sniffling and looked over to see her brother crying silently.

She moved over and sat right next to him and hugged him from the side to comfort him.

During commercials about Target, Direct TV, and Absolut Vodka, Alfred was being cuddled by Maddy so he would cheer up. He laid in her lap, a sniffling, upset lump. The TV returned to the show and Alfred looked up with his glassy sapphire eyes and watched.

 **It seemed to be later that night, for the sky outside the window was pitch black and speckled with stars. The agents were all gathered in the sitting area in the bar room, Arthur and Lukas snoozing peacefully but Francis and Gilbert stayed awake.**

 **"Our squad seems so small all of a sudden... there used to be eight of us, not too long ago." Francis whispered.**

 **"There would still be eight, if not for Matthias." Gilbert snarled. "He killed Emil, drove Lovino and Feliciano to flee, and he almost cost us Toni. I swear, I'm going to tear that bastard apart!"**

 **"Where do you think they are? Feli and Lovi, I mean." Francis asked quietly.**

 **"By now, they're probably back in Italy." Gilbert turned on his side and closed his eyes. "Dammit... It's gonna be hard without them."**

 **"And we might be losing Arthur as well."**

 **"What?" Gilbert sat straight up. "What do you mean?"**

 **"I overheard him talking to Sam. As soon as we take down Matthias he's going to quit the agency." Francis explained.**

 **"That's ridiculous! Is this because of Antonio? But he's going to be okay! He's resting now, he should be good to go soon!"**

 **"It's more than that. And really, I know how he feels but we can't let him do this. He trusts you more than anyone, Gil. You need to talk to him." Francis said seriously. Both of them looked over at Arthur, sprawled on a couch with one arm over his chest and the other dangling over the edge. He looked so peaceful, so unlike how stressed he'd been lately.**

 **"Alright. Yeah, I'll talk to him. But that bastard better not go through with this." Gilbert lay back down and sighed. "We should probably get some sleep as well. If all goes to plan, hell is going to break loose tomorrow. We'll need all the sleep we can get."**

 **"Yeah. G'night, Gil." Francis yawned.**

 **"Night." Contrary to his words, Gilbert did not go to sleep. He had an inkling of what Arthur was planning, and he refused to let it happen.**

 **Across the room, on the couch, Arthur's eyes opened. He'd heard the whole thing.**

Alfred sat up and now held his sister tightly like a security blanket. He was so drawn in that even if a robber ran in their house with a gun, Alfred wouldn't care as long as he could watch Agent X.

Maddy tried to break free from her brother but found it useless so she sighed and got comfortable and continued watching.

 **The screen faded to black and lit up into a daylight scene. The agents were all standing outside the Roadside Inn, even Antonio, who looked pale and a little worse for wear but otherwise okay. The only person missing from the scene was Arthur.**

 **Gilbert was kicking himself. "I can't believe he slipped away like that! I can't believe I actually fell asleep! That arschloch! Dummkopf!"**

 **"He went to take on Matthias by himself." Lukas muttered, rolling his eyes. "Fool."**

Alfred pouted. "He might die." He whispered and his eyes widened and he squeezed the Canadian girl tightly in fear for his favorite character.

Maddy gasped and tried to watch the show while her lower half was losing blood circulation. She pinched Alfred so he released and she took a breath and looked back at the screen, watching Gil yell angrily.

 **The group of four looked at the two remaining bikes and sighed. "Lukas, you can ride alone." Gilbert, their squad's second in command, said. "Franny, you'll ride with me. Toni, you're still hurt so you'll stay here with Sam." The Spaniard nodded in agreement.**

 **"Don't call me that." Francis grumbled.**

 **"Right." Gil grinned, hopping on his bike. "Get on, Franny." Francis grumbled a little more as he sat on the motorcycle behind the German.**

 **Lukas sat on his bike and they waited as the motorcycle engines purred, Gilbert checking his wristwatch- or rather, a device disguised as a wristwatch. He clicked the wind button twice and the watch grew into a small computer screen, from which he opened a GPS. Four blips indicated where they were and another blip indicated where Arthur was, approximately 20 miles ahead.**

 **"Alright, if we hurry we can get there just after him. But we gotta go, now!" With that they sped off.**

" **Come back safely." Antonio said softly, looking uncharacteristically anxious.**

 **Sam watched them from the window, an uneasy look on his wrinkled face. "Now why do I feel like this'll be the last time I see them?" He laughed it off. "Listen to me, an old man going senile. Of course they'll be fine. I bet they'll be back for breakfast." He wandered off back behind the bar and sat, waiting.**

Alfred whimpered as he watched them ride off. "Dammit, Sam is foreshadowing." He said and as the three drove off he pouted. "I hope they will be okay."

Maddy pet his hair. "They are the stars of the show, of course they will be okay".

Alfred scoffed. "Apparently you haven't seen Game of Thrones." He commented then his focus went back on the television screen.

 **As the team drove, ACDC's Highway To Hell started playing in the background. They went full speed, Gilbert occasionally checking the GPS to see Arthur's position. They were gaining on him, but then he watched the blip that was Arthur swerve off the road and stop. Gilbert's eyes narrowed. He knew exactly what that meant. They were still four miles behind him even as they drove full speed and there was no telling what would be going down when they arrived.**

 **"Get ready! We're almost there!" He shouted. His teammates all nodded and seemed to be bracing themselves for the fight.**

Alfred watched and crossed his fingers that they would make it in time to help Arthur.

Maddy sighed and watched the show disinterestedly. She didn't know anything about Matthias besides what Alfred would yell about, how he is a spiky asshole and stuff like that

 **The two motorcycles pulled into the parking lot of what looked like an abandoned Walmart building. Already they could hear explosions inside. They exchanged looks, nodded, and ran inside.**

 **To their mild surprise, Arthur was holding his own against a group of twenty or so of Matthias's minions. He fired rounds into their mass, taking down a few before ducking behind a checkout station and reloading his bullets.**

 **Gilbert launched a surprise attack, taking down a few men with headshots and wounding another few. Lukas darted to Arthur and tossed him a box of bullets.**

 **"I have a feeling that you need these." The Norwegian gave a rare smile. "Why the hell'd you run off without us, idiot? We can help you, you know. You're not in this alone."**

 **Arthur gazed at him, eyebrows furrowed. After a short silence, he returned the smile. "Thanks."**

Alfred smiled. "What a badass." He said again and he didn't take his eyes off his celebrity crush.

Maddy watched Gil shoot into the crowd "It's violent but I guess it's okay." she smiled and continued watching as the henchmen's numbers shrank.

 **Francis crouched side by side with Gilbert. "Don't get hurt!" He chided as Gilbert narrowly dodged a bullet to the arm and ducked behind a shelf for cover. "We're fighting for Toni too, don't forget!"**

 **"Of course!" Gilbert scoffed. "Who do take me for?"**

 **"Good." Francis grinned, stepping out of cover and firing more rounds into their opponents.**

 **Arthur pulled Lukas down behind the checkout counter as another wave of reinforcements appeared and looked him in the eyes. "I know what you're thinking, Lukas."**

 **"It's no different than what you're thinking!" Lukas spat.**

 **"Listen to me. I had my moment of stupidity but as soon as I got here I knew that I couldn't do it by myself. Trust me, I know exactly how you feel. But you can't take him on alone. They have the advantage of numbers and we're already running out of ammo. We're screwed, plain and simple. We need to escape if we want to live. You can't go after Matthias by yourself."**

 **"He killed my brother, Arthur!" Lukas's eyes flared with rage and his jaw grew tense. "Hell, he was like a brother to me! I need to be the one to kill him! This might even be my fault that he's like this!" Arthur adopted a puzzled look. Lukas sighed. "Look, in case you haven't noticed, this really isn't the best time to be talking about this. I know that I can't do it myself, but... Shit! He killed my little brother in cold blood! I need revenge!"**

 **"You're not alone, Lukas. He killed my parents. He killed Francis's sister, and Antonio's mother. He killed Gilbert's little brother, too. The twins also lost their parents at his hands. We've all lost someone, so this needs to be a group effort. It would only be fair." Arthur cracked a halfhearted smile. "Come on, we gotta get out of here."**

 **"Going somewhere?" They whipped around to see the subject of their conversation and their eyes widened in horror. Grinning, the henchmen slunk off. Their work was done.**

Alfred gasped and started squeezing Maddy tightly again because he was so anxious. Maddy sighed and pinched his forearm again and his grip eased up.

Alfred watched as the men walked away. "KICK HIS ASS!" He yelled at the TV and then became silent, wanting to see where it went.

 **"You know, that was a very touching speech, Arthur. 'We've all lost someone...' Just brings me to tears!" The speaker was a man who couldn't be older than 25, with cobalt eyes and blond hair gelled into spikes. His eyes held a manic glint in their blue depths; he was nothing short of insane.**

 **"Matthias..." Lukas hissed.**

Alfred glared daggers at the screen, hating the blond villain. Ever since the series began, he has been nothing but treacherous and diabolical.

Maddy examined the man. "Hm, he looks like that kid from high school rig-" she was silenced by her brother's hand and she rolled her eyes a little and stayed quiet.

 **Gilbert and Francis raced over, but like Arthur and Lukas their guns were empty. Regardless of his appearance, Matthias was smart. Very smart. He waited until they emptied their ammo supply before he made his debut.**

 **Matthias continued, "Don't make me laugh." He spat. "You ignorant fools. Your precious brothers, your sister, your parents... They all deserved to die for opposing me!"**

 **The screen's corners went fuzzy as several flashbacks played. A teenage Arthur, watching as a handsome black coffin was lowered into the ground, tears spilling from his eyes. Lukas, watching his brother take a bullet to the head with his mouth stretched in a silent scream, arm stretched out to push him out of the way but knowing that he was already far too late. Francis, kneeling at a grave with a bouquet of pale pink roses and white lilies held loosely in his hands as tears rolled down his cheeks. Gilbert and his brother laughing and fooling around, and then Gilbert by himself, looking lost and confused, eyes blotchy from crying as he clutched a necklace to his chest, one that exactly matched the one he currently wore, an iron cross.**

 **The flashbacks ended and the men featured in them all had identical looks of unadulterated fury on their faces.**

Alfred teared up and snarled at the sight of Matthias, he wanted to see them get vengeance for there loved ones that passed.

Maddy also teared up at the flashbacks. The one that really got her was Lukas and Emil and the look on the agent's face as he watched his brother's life end right in front of him.

 **Gilbert shuddered, eyes screwed shut, and when he opened them it was clear he was fighting back tears. His voice shook with such emotion it was hard to believe that he was only acting. "My brother... Was my life, my whole world... AND YOU TOOK HIM AWAY FROM ME!" Gilbert screamed, an anguished sound. He raised the gun in his hand and charged at Matthias, taking him by surprise and clubbing him across the face with the heavy artillery weapon.**

Alfred watched silently, completely thrilled that he was able to get a swing at Matthias.

Maddy cheered shortly that he got him and she ended up holding onto Alfred as well. The siblings were holding each other watching the season finale together, both intensely watching as the albino hit the tall blond man across the face.

 **"Hey now, I apologized. I play too rough sometimes." Matthias's eyes widened maliciously. "He was fun, though. I especially enjoyed making him scream."**

 **Another flashback played:**

 **Gilbert picked up the small package with an expression of great confusion as he tore it open. A painfully familiar object fell out into his hand. His eyes widened.**

 **An iron cross necklace, splattered with dried flecks of blood. A sense of horror overwhelmed him. "Ludwig..."**

 **And then another:**

 **"What did you do to my brother, Matthias?" Gilbert had him pinned to the wall and was up in his face, snarling in a way reminiscent to a wild animal.**

 **Matthias grinned cheerfully. "He was a very good toy, he lasted longer than I thought he would. But I'm afraid that I broke him. Sorry!" He said just as brightly as his smile.**

 **Gilbert dropped the butcher knife that he had pressed against his throat and backed away. "He... He's dead? Luddy's dead?" His eyes were wide and vacant. Matthias dropped a glossy, framed photograph at his feet and strolled away while Gilbert was still in shock. The camera panned in on the photograph and the mangled subject wasn't even recognizable as the laughing blond from Gilbert's earlier memory.**

 **The flashbacks ended and Gilbert had the same twisted look of fury as before.**

 **Matthias grabbed his wrist as he made to hit him again. He tsked and twisted his hand, making Gilbert drop the weapon. "You're even more foolish than your precious little brother. He thought he could protect you, you know. He thought that he could kill me and save you. How badly mistaken he was." Matthias purred, pulling him close and stroking Gilbert's cheek. "His skin was so silky, so easy to tear up. I wonder if yours would be as nice."**

Alfred gasped and watched closely. He wished Arthur would be the badass he was and help Gil. His eyes were slightly bloodshot from staring at the screen and from crying.

Madeline held onto her brother and a tear rolled down her cheek as the flashbacks played through. She was a nurse and she had seen a lot of people in terrible condition, but the human remains in the photo were horrific and morbid. Only a monster could do that to someone, a heartless, unstable, brutal monster.

 **Arthur followed Gilbert's example and threw his gun at Matthias, hitting him square in the face. Matthias yelped and fell to the floor, clutching his now broken nose. Arthur pulled Gilbert back and sheltered him behind him. "Get out." He muttered to the others. "Get out of here, I'll be right behind you."**

 **Very reluctantly, Francis and Lukas nodded and sprinted outside.**

 **"Go!" Arthur ordered Gilbert.**

 **"No. I know exactly what you're going to do and I'm not letting you do it alone." Gilbert picked up his gun off the floor and smacked Matthias with it again as he started to get up. Arthur's hand went to his hip and an extremely anxious look came over his face. "No..."**

Alfred's eyes widened and he grabbed Maddy's hand and squeezed it nervously.

Maddy let him and she also watched closely.

 **"I can't do it! Not with you here!" Arthur cried.**

 **"Then you're not going to do it at all!" Gilbert shook his head. "Arthur, please! It has to be done, you know that!"**

 **Tears beaded in Arthur's eyes because he knew that what Gilbert was saying was true. Matthias kicked Gilbert where it hurt and pushed him off of him, wiping his bloodied face on his sleeve. Arthur gave him one look and finally pulled the grenade from his pocket, pulling the pin and throwing it at his feet. Without wasting a second, Arthur grabbed Gilbert and hightailed it at the same time as Matthias, who swore and turned in the opposite direction.**

 **One...**

 **Two...**

 **KABOOM!**

 **The bomb blew with an explosion that shook the whole building.**

Alfred whimpered at the sight of the grenade and he clung to his smaller sister like a security blanket.

Madeline watched, showing some sadness but not as much as before. She had a feeling that they were okay, or at least that's what she kept thinking. They were so sucked in that when the screen went to commercials they shouted in annoyance.

Alfred groaned in annoyance. "God damn commercials are going to ruin the mood!"

Maddy giggled. "I was actually getting sucked in."

Alfred's eyes twinkled. "So you'll watch reruns with me?"

Maddy smiled and pinched his cheek. "No."

The commercials were shorter this time. One was an anti-smoking commercial, then back-to-back Pepsi advertisements, a Planet Fitness commercial, and then finally the show came back on the screen and the blonde siblings looked back at the TV.

 **The screen went black with only a piercing ringing sound to indicate that it was still on. A few seconds later a dot of light appeared in the center that grew into a scene outside the Walmart. Lukas and Francis stood frozen, staring in shock at the building from which they had just fled. They stood for a moment and then broke into a run back inside.**

 **"Arthur! Gilbert!" Francis shouted. The two agents were on the ground, bloody and lifeless. Shards of plastic, glass, and metal were everywhere. Several yards away, Matthias was in a similar state to Arthur and Gilbert, but they paid him no heed. Francis and Lukas both sank to their knees next to their friends.**

 **Glassy eyes stared vacantly at nothing. Blood-stained clothing was torn from shrapnel.**

 **"They're... dead." Lukas said faintly.**

And the credits rolled.

"NO!" Alfred screamed which made Madeline recoil and cover her ears.

"NO NO NO NO NO NO! I REFUSE! IT CANT END LIKE THAT!" He continued yelling.

Maddy looked at her brother and took her hands off her ears. "Oh. I guess I was wrong. That's sad, well, goodnight." She smiled and went to get up but was yanked back down almost instantly. "Don't leave me in my time of need!" He pouted. "Hopefully there will be an after show interview or something! A message from the actors!" He said as tears yet again flooded his eyes and spilled down his cheeks.

Maddy held in another sigh and cuddled up next to her brother, who was obviously distraught.

Luckily for Alfred, he was correct. As soon as the credits finished, a voice announced "And now a live message from the cast of Agent X."

The screen turned to a camera feed, which someone was fiddling with if the close up of a rumpled gray t-shirt was anything to go on. "Is this on? This is on, right?"

"Yes, Gil, it's on. Sit down, you idiot." Arthur sighed. Gilbert moved away and the camera's view was opened to six smiling faces.

"Hey guys! I know you're all so psyched to find out what happened to me, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait for the final season premiere in September!" This was Matthias, looking as stupidly cheerful as he did in the show, but not in a sadistic way.

"Shut up asshole, no one cares about you." Gilbert said with a playful glare.

Arthur looked at them both disapprovingly and rolled his eyes. "Anyways, we're on a plane to Albany, New York right this instant, so if you live in or near Albany be sure to greet us tomorrow morning at 7am!"

Gilbert and Matthias started to scuffle on the floor next to Arthur and the blond sighed, standing up to break it up. "Honestly, we're live! Try and behave yourselves for once!"

Francis chuckled, sipping a glass of red wine to further darken the flush in his cheeks. "Oh Arthur, you're such a stiff." Francis smacked Arthur's ass, making the Brit jump and, of course, punch Francis in the face.

"You bloody pervert!" He shouted. Lukas and Antonio watched, the latter in great amusement. Lukas heaved a sigh and reached over. "I'll just turn this off then. I swear, they're children..." And the camera clicked off.

Arthur groaned. They had royally screwed up the live broadcast and they still had a good eleven hours left in their flight. He leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. Hopefully he could sleep for that long, because he forgot his Harry Potter books back in England and his phone was dead.

Alfred eyes lit up with joy and he looked at Maddy with big puppy dog eyes. "Can we go tomorrow?"

Madeline groaned. "Alfred, tomorrow is my only day off next week and I don't feel like driving for two hours just for you to see them walk past you."

Alfred's pout grew. "I'd go myself but I want you to be there with me, so please? Brother-sister bonding time?"

Madeline stared at him, wanting so badly to say no, but she couldn't find the strength. She smiled softly. "Fine." She spoke quietly and stood. "Then I should go to bed now. Set up the coffee so it will be quick to turn it on tomorrow morning." She said and stretched. "Good night Alfred."

The blond boy smiled and jumped up happily and hugged her and kissed her cheek repeatedly. "Thanks Mads!" He smiled and snuggled her close.

Madeline let him and then he let go. "Night Maddy," he smiled as she walked towards the staircase.

"Good night Alfie." She smiled at the dork and went to bed.

* * *

 ***I have no idea how liver wounds work, so please forgive me if I'm wrong.**

 ****roughly $776**

 **The next chapter should be out soon, it's already written so I just have to put it into chapter format and edit it for spelling and grammar mistakes. See you next time~**


	2. In Which They Meet

**Hello again! This is going to be a rather fast-updating story *cheers* Again, this story is an ongoing roleplay between me and 2cute4lyfe, so we each get half credit! As of now, she hasn't posted anything on her account but when she does you should check her out cause she's awesome.**

 **Compared to the last whopper of a chapter, this one is miniscule at a measly 1,512 words. Oh well. We're breaking up the chapters by content, so there will be long and short ones.**

 **We do not own Hetalia.**

* * *

Alfred woke up at 8 and got dressed. It was summer but the past few weeks it wasn't humid so the mornings were still a little cool. He put on some dark blue jeans and an Avengers shirt because all of his Agent X shirts were dirty.

He slipped on some sneakers and went to wake up Maddy. Madeline was already awake, wearing dark red leggings and a black tee shirt with a loose open white sweater. She was slipping on flats as he walked in her room.

Alfred smiled cheerily. "I already turned the coffee on so you can make your coffee and we can get breakfast at a drive-thru."

Maddy nodded and put her hair in a messy bun then walked out with him and went downstairs to make her coffee.

Arthur was shaken awake by Lovino at a little past 10:30. "We're here." Arthur stretched and yawned, head lolling to the side. The crew bustled around, along with the cast's family members that had tagged along. It was a small crew, only script writers, a director, and costume designers since it was mostly a self-produced show. Arthur's little brother Peter had come along, as well as Gilbert's brother Ludwig, and Francis's sister Monique.

He glanced out of the window of the private jet and saw that they were nearing the landing strip. "Ugh, I should get dressed." He grumbled and fished through his suitcase, pulling out a change of clothes and quickly tugging them on. Even from here he could see the crowd of cars glittering colorfully in the morning sunlight down below. He had to look presentable, after all, so he tugged on a simple button-up jade green shirt and nice black pants. Of course he was one of the only ones who dressed nicely. Gilbert tossed on a white t-shirt and jeans, Antonio following along these lines. Francis of course wore a dressy blue shirt and matching pants. Arthur looked around and Francis was the best dressed of all of them, as usual.

Whatever. They would be in the public's eye for only a few minutes. Arthur grabbed his suitcase and stretched again. "Ugh, let's just get this over with."

Gilbert chuckled in agreement. "Yeah."

The jet touched down on the landing strip and came to a stop. Arthur sighed, not wanting to face the crowd. He loved his fans, of course he did, but he hated crowds and being gawked at, and paparazzi. And all of that was waiting for them just outside.

When they touched down, Madeline's car parked at the airport.

Alfred hopped out and went to where the crowd was to see them. Madeline walked closer but away from the crowd as she didn't want to be bombarded by people.

Alfred was near the front yet at the edge so he could still see his sister.

Maddy boredly sipped her coffee and bit her drive-thru scone.

The crowd waited excitedly as the cast filed out, Arthur in the lead. The blond paused, blinking in the sudden light, and was promptly bumped into by Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio who decided to run out all at the same time and didn't see Arthur in their way. He spun around angrily and proceeded to chew them out. Paparazzi closed in, one of them happening to shunt Maddy off to the side and knock her over.

Maddy gasped as she was shoved and she dropped her coffee and scone which spilled all over and she landed on her hands and knees. Alfred, seeing his sister get pushed, ran over to her.

Francis heard her cry out and looked up, and though at first he only seemed concerned but then realization dawned in his face.

"Franny? What's up?" Gilbert said curiously. He watched curiously as Francis maneuvered through the crowd to the girl's side, helping her up.

"Are you okay, Madeline?" He asked.

Alfred was in utter shock that a star of his favorite show was standing so close, and knew his sister.

Madeline gratefully accepted his help and looked up. "Yes I'm fine, just now a little dirty thank you." She smiled then she looked into his eyes and realized who he was. "Oh god, Francis! I almost didn't recognize you! You look so grown up and great and just-" she stopped herself and smiled. "Sorry, I'm rambling, but still I've missed you so much!" She cried and hugged the Frenchman close.

Alfred gasped and was frozen as he watched his sister. "Maddy you know him?"

Madeline smiled and nodded. "This is my French cousin on my mom's side I told you about."

Francis grinned and patted her head affectionately. "Of all the places to find you again! I haven't seen you in so long but you haven't changed one bit!"

"You gonna introduce us or what?" Gilbert drawled as he and the rest of the cast approached, their curiosity getting the best of them.

Maddy hugged him again quickly and saw the rest of the cast and walked up to them casually. "Hi I'm Madeline, Francis and I are cousins" She introduced herself.

Alfred saw the others come closer, including Arthur Kirkland, his celebrity crush, his favorite actor and singer. Alfred tried to stay calm but he was blushing a lot and he couldn't take his eyes off the cast members.

Arthur smiled and shook her hand, always the gentleman. "Hello, I'm Arthur Kirkland. Nice to meet you. Is this your brother?"

Alfred opened his mouth to greet the star but no words came out and he blushed more and tried to stutter out words.

Maddy giggled at her brother's struggle to speak to his idol and went over to him to help him out. "This is Alfred and I'm guessing now he is going into shock because he is a really big dork and he loves your show." She smiled and patted his shoulder.

Alfred went to politely shake Arthur's hand but being so close to him was so unreal that Alfred fainted.

"Shit!" Arthur gasped and he caught Alfred just as his legs gave out.

Maddy gasped then laughed and stepped back not to crowd and bumped into someone. "Oh, sorry!" She spoke quickly and realized it was the super-hot guy with white hair from the show.

Alfred shortly woke up and when his sight focused, he looked up into beautiful green eyes and his own eyes widened and he jumped up and quickly apologized. "Oh god I'm so sorry for fainting, and I'm sorry for you having to catch me." He spoke really fast, staring at Arthur's face in an odd captivation.

Arthur laughed beautifully. "It's fine. It's not your fault, are you dehydrated? Have you eaten?" He asked in genuine concern.

Alfred nodded. "Yeah I had three cups of coffee and two donuts." He replied. "It's just that, when I made my sister drive down with me, I never thought I'd meet my idol." He smiled awkwardly, still kind of freaking out.

"You flatter me," Arthur chuckled.

Alfred blushed a lot and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sorry." He apologized for the 3rd or 4th time. "I bet you hear that a lot, it must get annoying being so cool, everyone wanting to talk to you and stuff." He said, trying to have a normal conversation.

"You don't have to apologize." Arthur assured him.

Gilbert looked down at Maddy and smirked. "Hey, Franny's cousin. You're short."

Maddy shrugged. "I'm sorry did you expect me to be 6'11"?" She asked and raised an eyebrow. "Sorry to disappoint."

Gilbert burst out laughing, a surprisingly obnoxious sound compared to the laugh he displayed on the show. "Kesesese! Franny's mentioned you before but he never mentioned the cheek!"

"She wasn't this sassy when we were children. What on earth happened to you, mon cher?" Francis frowned at Gilbert's nickname for him and the laugh.

Madeline sighed. "I'm sorry, it was a bit mean of me." She apologized. "I'm used to snide remarks from Alfred or my coworkers so it's an instant response."

"Listen, um… we have to go." Arthur glanced over at the waiting car. "I'd give you my number but I don't want you to be attacked, so talk to your sister and get Francis's number off of her and he'll give you mine. Bye!" Arthur dashed off to where the twins and Lukas were waiting. Antonio followed after waving goodbye.

"Kesese, it's fine. I like a girl with sass. It looks like we're going now, so I'll see you around!" Gilbert hung back for Francis as he said farewell to his cousin and then the two of them joined the others in the car, which drove off.

Maddy waved bye casually, a small blush on her face from the flirtatious albino man. She went back to her brother who didn't move from his spot as he watched the car drive off. "Holy shit..." he said softly.

Maddy nodded and grabbed his hand. "Come on, you're buying me another coffee and scone." She scolded and dragged him towards the car.


	3. In Which Gilbert Buys Rainbow Cars

**Yup, two updates in a row! I'm awesome, I know *preens*.**

 **Roleplay with 2cute4lyfe.**

 **We do not own Hetalia.**

* * *

The entire drive to the house they purchased for while they were in New York, Francis had a stupid grin on his face. Arthur looked at him critically. "Frog, you look stupid."

"Is it because of that chica?" Antonio inquired.

"She was your cousin, right? She was cute." Gilbert said thoughtfully.

Lukas ignored them all and chatted casually with Matthias. Lovino stared petulantly at Antonio, annoyed at losing his attention, while Feliciano watched cat videos on YouTube with his headphones in, giggling ceaselessly.

"Yeah, that was my cousin Madeline. I haven't seen her since we were children. She always was a shy girl, I'm glad she's come out of her shell." Francis said fondly. He pulled out her phone and typed in her number that he had received, wondering briefly if he should call so soon.

Gilbert made the decision for him. He snatched the phone out of Francis's hand and dialed.

Madeline and Alfred were sitting in a nearby cafe eating some scones and donuts and sipping coffee and Madeline's phone buzzed and she answered it. "Hello?" She asked into her cell. Alfred, with a mouthful of donut, looked up at his sister, confused.

"Hey Maddy! It's the awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt on Francis's phone! I'm stealing your number by the way. Anyways, you and your bro should come visit us tonight! We've bought a house on Swallow Drive, the big gray one! I don't know the address, but you can find us right?"

Francis snatched it back. "I'm sorry about him Madeline, he's kind of obnoxious. You don't have to visit if you don't want to, not that you're unwelcome, but..."

Madeline giggled softly and smiled. "It's fine Francis, also, we would love to come hang out with you guys tonight, Alfred will be ecstatic." She said. Alfred heard and his eyes widened with joy and he became antsy in his seat.

"Oh? Oh! Okay! We'll be there soon, you can come anytime! We're just going to be moving in, so feel free to just head over whenever!" Francis said excitedly. He could finally have a decent conversation with his cousin!

"She's coming? Awesome!" Gilbert cried.

Maddy smiled. "Also, I've perfected my French, so we can speak in your native tongue." She said, remembering the torturous classes.

Alfred pouted. "If you speak in French, I won't be able to understand you."

Maddy nodded. "Exactly." She laughed softly.

"Bilingual? Ooh, you're so well-cultured! Do you know German?" Gilbert said in approval, having taken the phone again.

Madeline thought. "Only a little bit, and I was raised around French, I just stopped studying for a while." She said, her smile fading at the memory.

"Oh." Even over the phone, it was clear Gilbert was pouting. The phone rustled and in the background Arthur spoke.

"Is her brother coming?"

"I dunno. Hey Maddy, is your brother gonna come?" Gilbert questioned.

Maddy smiled. "Of course, if it's no problem. It would be cruel of me to go without him." She said and looked at her brother who was nibbling his other donut.

"Oh, good. Because Arthur is totally lusting after him! He can't wait to see his new boy toy!" Gilbert screeched in hysterical laughter, loud enough to make it seem as though Madeline had her phone on speakers.

"I am not!" Arthur screamed. "You German bastard! I don't even know him!"

Maddy giggled and heard a noise from across from her and she looked over at her brother.

Alfred was bright red and he dropped his donut on the table, blushing intensely.

Maddy smiled. "So what time?" She asked.

The phone made another rustling noise and Arthur spoke into it this time. "I apologize profusely for Gilbert's behavior, it was extremely uncalled for. To answer your question, we are pulling into the drive now and it should take us about 5 to 10 minutes to unload the car, so any time you would like to come over, feel free." He said fluidly.

Maddy smiled. "How about lunch? Maybe I'll cook for you guys, then I can catch up with Francis." She offered.

"That sounds lovely; I look forward to meeting you." Arthur said warmly.

Maddy nodded. "You too, see you soon. Also, welcome to New York." she said then hung up before Alfred grabbed her phone to try to hear Arthur's voice but his pout grew when he realized she hung up.

"I wanted to hear him talk."

Maddy sighed. "Alfie, you hear him all the time on TV. When we go hang out with him, just remember he is a human, with feelings, flaws, and fears so don't go crazy." She said, sipping her coffee.

"Well that was eventful." Arthur glowered at Gilbert, who snickered. "Get out, you idiot. We need to unpack."

Gilbert climbed out of the car, followed by Antonio and Arthur. Everyone was already outside and taking their luggage out of the trunk. "Okay, so this place is three stories right?" Arthur thought aloud. "Big kitchen, three full bathrooms and one half... 10 bedrooms, damn that's a lot, seriously why so much..."

"I'll share with Luddy." Feliciano giggled, grasping the blond's arm.

"Me and Lukas will share, right?" Matthias patted his boyfriend's head affectionately. Lukas gave a grunt that could have been either a yes or a no.

"I guess I can share with the tomato bastard." Lovino grumbled, though his cheeks were tinted pink.

"Alright then, that sounds good. Let's choose our bedrooms and get settled. Madeline and Alfred are coming over for lunch, so we have half an hour." Arthur informed them.

"Yes captain!" They all chorused sarcastically.

Madeline and Alfred soon finished their brunch and Maddy drove them home to their own house. "I'm going to take a quick nap." She said and lay on the couch. "Wake me up 15 minutes before noon."

Arthur unpacked the food after selecting a bedroom and he filled up the pantry, cabinets, and refrigerator. "Well, the kitchen is all set. Suppose I'll personalize my bedroom." Arthur muttered to himself.

Lukas and Matthias chose a room with a king size bed for special nighttime activities, as did Antonio and Lovino and Ludwig and Feliciano.

Francis, on the other hand, chose his bedroom for its elegant style. The furniture was a creamy vanilla white and the walls were painted a pale blue. The floor was a plush cream carpet and the closet was spacious enough to hold his many outfits. Having unpacked, he lounged on the comfy four poster bed, eyes closed in bliss.

Arthur glanced in as he passed and rolled his eyes. Of course he would like that room.

Madeline only slept for 5 minutes then woke up and Alfred was sitting at the end of the couch watching Supernatural while she slept.

Maddy sat up and smiled "Hey." She said and hugged her brother.

Alfred looked over; it was a rerun so he didn't care if he got distracted. He smiled at Madeline and hugged her back. "Time to go see them" he smiled.

Maddy nodded. "I know, just let me go get my keys." She said and got up and went to get them.

Arthur finished hanging the last of his clothing in the closet and looked around at his room. It was a painted a dark emerald and filled with handsome mahogany furniture, his favorite of which being the queen sized bed. He could have fun on that.

He was distracted from his thoughts when Gilbert pelted past his bedroom at full speed. "Gilbert?!"

"THEY'RE HEEEERRREEEEE!" He screamed in response. Arthur figured he must have a window facing the front of the house and he saw them arrive, because not a second later the doorbell rang its cheerful chime. Arthur straightened his shirt and went to greet them along with Francis, who looked just as excited as Gilbert but thankfully managed to keep a hold on himself.

Madeline was holding Alfred's hand to try to calm him down. Alfred would always hold her hand in middle school because she got picked on for being a tomboy.

The door opened and Madeline smiled shyly. "Hi."

Alfred blushed. "H-hey."

"Hello. Good to see you again." Arthur said with a friendly smile.

"Hey Maddy! Hey Arthur's boy toy!" Gilbert grinned. Arthur smacked him upside the head, looking faintly annoyed.

"Hello Madeline, it's good to see you again." Francis smiled.

Maddy smiled and hugged Francis and then stepped back. "Sorry it's just, I was thinking about my mom earlier and all of the memories of us as kids came flooding back." She blushed.

Alfred waved a little and stepped inside with Maddy.

Francis gave a strained smile and ushered them in. "I heard you were making us lunch? Have fun, you're feeding thirteen people, including yourself." Francis teased.

"Want some help?" Arthur offered.

"NO!" Francis and Gilbert screamed in unison, Gilbert tackling him to the ground. "Go, go! I have him pinned!" He cried. Francis quickly led them to the kitchen.

Madeline was surprised. "Francis, what was that about?" She asked, confused. Alfred followed quickly, not understanding what was going on.

"Whenever Arthur sets foot in the kitchen, bad things happen."

"Aye, last time I was making churros and he tried to help, he set the kitchen on fire." Antonio said, lounging on the counter and munching on said treat.

Maddy giggled and put her hand out to greet the Spanish man. "Hey."

Alfred waved. "Hola." Maddy started examining the things they had in the fridge and began planning what to make.

"Lo siento, chica, I used some ingredients to make churros. There's plenty extra though." Antonio pointed to the stove top, where a pan of churros sat cooling.

Francis took one, as did Gilbert who came charging into the kitchen. "Arthur went to sulk. He's probably reading in his room, or the sunroom. He seemed to like that place." Gilbert informed them as he took a big bite out of his churro. "Woo, its hot!"

Maddy giggled at Gil's antics and smiled at them. "So is there anything you guys are craving? Cause I can send Al shopping for everything we need. I'm thinking so far just a lot of side dishes and no main dish, so what do you guys like?" She asked.

"Well, we have basic baking ingredients and a bunch of fruit. I was planning on making crepes." Francis mused, rooting through the fridge to find the raspberries.

Maddy nodded. "Okay, and also, all of you are from different countries right? Why not a popular side dish from each country?"

Alfred pouted. "That sounds like a lot of shopping."

Maddy shrugged "Well I don't know if you guys get to visit home often but if not, then that's an option. Or we can stick to my original plan. Also, does anyone have any allergies?" She asked.

Alfred sighed. "Maddy, you're thinking too deep into this, relax."

"That sounds like a lot of cooking just for lunch. You know what, why don't we go out for lunch and then we can cook dinner later? Then we can go all out." Francis suggested. "And we can shop for ingredients on the way back from lunch."

"No food allergies, by the way. We're all good. ...well, Luddy and I are allergic to crawfish but who the hell eats crawfish anyways?" Gilbert grinned.

Madeline nodded. "Okay, deal." She smiled and looked at Gilbert. "Well, I suggest you don't take a road trip down South then."

Alfred nodded. "Crawfish, barbeque, and some good homestyle cooking down South." He smiled fondly.

Maddy shook her head. "You really wanna go back, don't you?"

Alfred shrugged. "I miss Louisiana."

Maddy nodded and looked at Francis and Gilbert. "All his life up until 3rd grade he lived down South with his mother, and every summer and break during school he would go back down."

"Haha, it sounds like a fishy nightmare to me. But yeah, me and Luddy are just gonna go back to Germany after the show is over." Gilbert shrugged. "I know Arthur is going back to England, but I think Toni is moving to Italy with the twins."

"Mm, I can't bear to be away from my Lovi!" Antonio hummed in agreement as he finished off his second churro.

Madeline smiled. "That sounds nice, moving back home. Francis, would you be going back to France?" She asked.

Francis shrugged. "I don't know yet. I've thought about it."

"What restaurant do you recommend?" Antonio asked from where he still sat on the counter, completely changing the subject.

Alfred thought. "Well there is this Yellowstone Cafe or whatever and it's really nice, inside it's like a tree house."

Maddy nodded. "They have great vegetarian options as well."

"That sounds good. ARTHUR! WE'RE GOING OUT FOR LUNCH, ARE YOU GONNA COME OR ARE YOU GONNA KEEP SULKING?" Gilbert shouted. A few moments passed and Arthur shuffled into the kitchen.

"I wasn't sulking." He grumbled. "Hello Madeline, hello Alfred."

"Should we even ask everyone else?" Antonio questioned.

"The twins went to judge the pizza and pasta of New York and Matthias and Lukas do not want to be disturbed." Arthur said firmly. "Trust me, I know. I accidentally walked into the wrong room."

"Kesese." Gilbert snickered.

Maddy smiled. "So you guys can follow Alfred and I if we drive there. You guys have a ride right?" She asked, just to make sure.

Alfred waved at Arthur when he said hi and smiled, then looked down at his sister. His pulse began racing when Arthur walked in the room but he stayed calm.

"Yeah, we have a car." Arthur gave Gilbert a disdainful look and the latter laughed. "I'll go get Peter and Monique." He left the kitchen again and Gilbert burst out laughing.

Madeline raised an eye. "Monique is here? I remember when auntie went into labor." She giggled.

Alfred tilted his head. "Huh?"

Maddy waved him off. "We didn't know each other at that point."

"Yeah, she's excited to see you again. I think she's just finishing up her shower right now. Gilbert, shut up! It's not funny!" Francis snapped.

Antonio cracked a smile and Gilbert gave a wide grin. "You gotta admit it's hilarious how pissed he is."

Francis sighed and rolled his eyes but chuckled. "Yeah, a bit." To Madeline and Arthur, he said "When we were shopping for a car, Arthur picked out a van so we would only need to buy one car and all of us could fit. Gilbert agreed and as soon as Arthur left the room he bought eight Volkswagen Beetles instead."

Maddy laughed. "Wow that's a lot."

Alfred nodded. "I like his style." He chuckled.

"And they're all in pastel shades of the rainbow." Arthur snarled, appearing back in the kitchen with two young teenagers in tow.

Peter looked around at the two new faces but then Monique ran right past him and hugged Madeline. Maddy giggled and hugged her back.

Monique smiled "Madeline! I was wondering if we were going to see you when we came to America."

Maddy laughed. "You can thank my brother for that, being such an Agent X nerd."

Francis smiled warmly. Arthur patted Peter's head and he strolled towards Alfred, intending upon making casual conversation.

Alfred greeted him. "Hey, I didn't know you guys brought little brothers and sisters with you." He said.

"Yeah, this is my little brother Peter. Gilbert's brother Ludwig is here too but he went with the twins. He can never say no to Feliciano. Hell, I don't think any of us can." Arthur chuckled. "Do you have any other siblings besides Madeline?" He glanced over at her, jabbering away in rapid-fire French with Monique.

Alfred cringed at the question and nodded. "A step-sister, Sophie," he sighed, "she isn't exactly the nicest girl ever."

"Spoiled brat? Or just a bitch?" Arthur asked in sympathy. "I have four older brothers and they're all assholes."

Alfred sighed. "She's both. My father favors her because her mom is hot, even though she only married him so she could get his money." He said and leaned against the wall. "That's why she hates Maddy and I, because if he dies we would get the money if they divorced."

"Ouch." Arthur winced. "That sucks, I'm sorry."

Alfred shrugged. "It's cool, we don't need our dad's money anyways."

"Who needs money when you're already happy?" Arthur said wisely.

Alfred nodded. "I might sound spoiled but I wish my father wasn't rich, I wish I grew up middle class or even lower class, because then every dollar we would make would be used wisely and I would probably be more grateful." He admitted.

Arthur scoffed. "You don't sound the slightest bit spoiled, trust me. You sound like someone who has their priorities in the right order."

Alfred smiled, thankful that he understood what he meant.

Madeline smiled after finishing her conversation with Monique and looked at Francis. "So I've always wondered, do actors like you go to college and stuff? Like, just in case acting didn't work out?"

"Oh yeah, we all went to the same one actually. We had various things as our backup plans. I was going to go into banking; Arthur was going to do something with writing or music. Toni was going to go into farming, just all different things." Francis replied.

Maddy frowned. "You would go into banking? But as a kid you wanted to be a chef." She said, remembering when they were close.

"I decided I should set my sights on something more attainable." Francis said.

Maddy pouted. "But you would probably be a great chef."

"I chose not to follow that dream. I still cook, but I do it because I enjoy it. I don't want me food to be critiqued, I want it to be savored. If I ever went into the culinary career, I would open a restaurant. Never a 'professional' chef." Francis shrugged.

Maddy nodded "I understand, that makes a lot of sense actually, but either way why banking?" She asked curiously

"It's a good profession." He shrugged again. "I just chose a branch in business and I've always been good at math and stuff, so..."

Antonio finished off another churro and blinked. "Are we going to go?"

Maddy nodded and looked at Toni. "Hm?"

"Are we going to lunch? We can talk as we wait for our meal. It's almost 1." Antonio said.

Maddy nodded. "Oh yeah! I'm sorry." She said, feeling bad for making them wait. "Tell everybody that's going, I'll go start the car." She said, blushing a little.

Alfred nodded. "So who's coming anyway?" he asked.

"Um, just everyone in here. Matthias and Lukas are... busy, and the twins and Ludwig are still out." Arthur counted off on his fingers. "So we can just go."

Alfred nodded and walked outside to Maddy's white Dodge Charger convertible and got in the passenger seat. Maddy took her white sweater off and scarf so she was just in the black v neck tee and leggings. It'd gotten a bit warmer out so she put her hair up.

Arthur cast a disdainful look at the row of Volkswagens and reluctantly climbed behind the wheel of the light green one, Peter getting in the passenger seat.

"Lead the way!" Gilbert cheered from his seat in the light pinkish red one. Francis drummed his fingers on the wheel of the baby blue Beetle with Monique in shotgun, and Antonio claimed the pastel yellow Beetle.

Maddy smiled at the trail of rainbow cars and drove off towards the café.

* * *

 **Next chapter should be out tomorrow, sometime in the afternoon. If not, there's no excuse for it besides laziness since we've written up to chapter six.**


	4. In Which They Smile Way Too Much

**Yeah, I was lazy. Sorry. And I got lazy while editing so there's probably mistakes. Still looking for a beta.**

 **Roleplay with 2cute4lyfe. She finally posted a story, its a oneshot but it's good (I know, I beta-ed it!) so you should go check her out!**

 **We do not own Hetalia.**

* * *

Maddy and Alfred parked and stepped out, watching the rainbow cars pull up.

The cast piled out of their cars and lined up behind Alfred and Madeline. "Looks fancy." Gilbert said with a broad smirk.

Maddy shrugged. "Eh, it's really not. The inside looks like the woodland elves from Lord of the Rings built it."

"Sounds good to me!" Arthur said brightly.

She smiled and walked inside with them. It was dim, with soft music playing. The tables and benches all were made of polished wood. Maddy and Alfred greeted the owner and he walked them to a booth that had a pretty light hanging off the ceiling. The whole inside looked like a fancy treehouse, with branches that cut through the walls creating some of the furniture.

"This place is sweet!" Gilbert exclaimed.

Arthur ran his hand over the smooth bench formed out of a branch, an expression of awe upon his face. Antonio and Francis examined the antique- style light fixtures. "Are you sure this place isn't fancy?" Antonio asked skeptically.

Alfred nodded. "This place is quiet and nice." He said.

"I feel underdressed!" Gilbert agreed with Antonio, gesturing to his T-shirt and jeans.

Madeline giggled. "Not many people come here, and no you're not under dressed. I'm wearing a shirt and leggings." She said, scooting in the booth so she sat in between Alfred and Francis.

"And nice boots. I have these." Gilbert pointed to his dirty Nikes. "Not to mention we're with these dorks who wear suits everywhere." He pointed to Arthur and Francis.

With the air of a greatly mature man, Arthur stuck his tongue out at Gilbert, who returned the totally not childish gesture.

Alfred chuckled and sat down, looking at the menu they were given.

Maddy smiled. "So they have really good salads and sandwiches. I suggest the garden-fresh strawberry salad."

"Beer?"

"Gil, you are not drinking! You bought the separate cars, so we're each our own designated drivers." Arthur smirked. "I think I'll try that salad."

"I'm gonna get wings. Extra spicy, with a side of Tobasco sauce." Gilbert licked his lips.

Francis and Antonio looked over the menu broodingly.

Monique looked over the menu and looked at Madeline. "You said the strawberry salad?" She asked.

Maddy nodded. "Yeah it's good."

Monique hummed to herself. "Okay, I'm getting that."

Maddy nodded. "They also have different types of teas, both hot and iced if anyone is interested."

Peter bit his lip "I think I just want a ham and cheese sandwich with a juice." He told Arthur.

"Whatever you want." Arthur said and started looking at the different teas. "Yeah, I think I'm just going to stick with Earl Grey." He decided.

"Beer..." Gilbert said miserably, whining his loss. Arthur gave him a sharp look and he heaved a sigh, eventually settling on Dr Pepper.

Alfred chuckled. "Technically you could drink beer if you want, just give me the keys to the car you drove and you can ride with Maddy." He offered.

Gilbert perked up and looked at Madeline like she was his lord and savior. "Will you really?" He asked, not daring to believe it.

Madeline smiled and nodded. "Of course, if you don't mind driving with me."

"Yay!"

Arthur chanced a look at Alfred. "And what about me?" He asked softly, not letting the others hear him.

Alfred thought. "Well, then I can drive with you in a car and have my friend pick up the other car after." He offered.

"Sounds good!" And when the server came, Arthur did not order Earl Grey. Instead, he ordered two bottles of the same spiced rum he drank in the season finale. Gilbert ordered a Heineken along with his wings, and Francis ordered a water and bisque soup with a baguette. Antonio ordered a chicken wrap and a YooHoo.

Madeline ordered an unsweetened iced tea and a strawberry salad and Monique ordered the same. Alfred got a hot roast beef sandwich and a Coke.

After the waitress sashayed away, swaying her hips with a flirtatious glance back at the young men, Arthur looked across the table at Alfred. "So how old are you?"

"You're 19 now, right Madeline?" Francis asked.

Maddy nodded. "Yeah." She smiled. "I'm still amazed."

"We're both 19. My birthday is three days after hers." Alfred added.

"Oh, cool. Gil, Lukas and I are 23, Francis and Toni are 24, the twins are 22. Matthias is 25." Arthur said. "Peter and Monique are both fourteen. Gil, Ludwig turned 22 last year right? Yeah. And Lukas's brother Emil, who decided not to come, is 17."

Madeline bobbed her head. "Nice, it's probably easier working with friends that are similar ages right?" She asked curiously.

"Plus you guys have similar views too, right?" Alfred asked.

They all exchanged looks. "Yeah, I guess. We all believe in equal rights, no matter your race or nationality, gender, religion, or sexuality. Heavens knows we're all bisexual, if not outright homosexual." Arthur laughed.

"We all get together and marathon various anime series once a week. We have popcorn and make snacks from our countries. Except Arthur. He's not allowed to cook." Antonio said.

"We all like music too, but our favorites vary. Arthur likes classic rock, I like more modern rock, like heavy metal, and Rammstein. Antonio is obsessed with this Ennio Emmanuel guy because he's weird. I don't even know what the hell Francis listens to. Lukas listens to this really freaky gothic music…" Gilbert trailed off and shivered.

"We have decided that after Agent X is over, we're going to write another show and star on it together, because we love working together." Francis said. "Anyways, that's enough about us. What about you two?"

Alfred was caught off guard; his favorite people in the world just spilled their likes and dislikes so casually. He looked at Maddy to speak.

Maddy frowned. "Let's see, our father knocked our mothers up at similar times. He was technically married to my mom, but that didn't go well and he had an affair with Alfred's mom, which turned into his second marriage. I speak French, English and Italian and Alfred speaks English, fluent Spanish and tried learning French but failed. He prefers grunge music and classic rock and I enjoy alternative, classical and death metal. We both believe in equality for everyone. I'm straight, Alfred is bisexual, leaning towards guys, or should I say _a_ guy." She giggled.

Alfred pouted. "Shush."

Maddy smiled sweetly in return. "I graduated early and I'm a nurse, but I'm still in school to become a pediatrician because I love kids." She said and thought. "If there's anything else you wanna know, you can just ask."

"Favorite food?" Francis asked. He was always up for a challenge when it came to cooking.

"My favorite food are pancakes, and I'd like to say that nobody makes them better than me." She grinned proudly.

Alfred looked over and nodded. "Her pancakes are the best, better than any eatery's ever."

Francis mock gasped. "Mon cher, you dare say your pancakes are better than mine?"

"You make crepes, shut up Frog." Arthur snapped.

Madeline smirked. "Oh Francis, French cuisine may be your forte, but my pancakes would put your crepes to shame." She said cockily. Alfred smiled and nodded, agreeing with Maddy.

France paused in the heated discussion to graciously thank the pretty waitress as she delivered their meals as well as refills on the drinks. Then he turned sharply back to Madeline and puffed out his chest. "Madeline Williams! I, Francis Bonnefoy, hereby declare a cooking war as soon as we return to the house!"

Arthur sighed and rolled his eyes, taking a sip out of his rum. Alfred thanked the waitress and nibbled a chip that came with his food.

Madeline thanked the waitress then turned to Francis and laughed softly. "I accept, but I wouldn't want you to cry in front of Monique when you lose."

"Oh trust me, I will not be losing." Francis narrowed his eyes and picked up his bread, tearing it in half and dipping one half in the soup, never taking his eyes off of her.

Maddy attempted to hold in her laughter but failed and her giggles escaped. "Sorry it's just that your confidence is really amusing."

"Your arrogance is astounding." Francis retorted.

Arthur was now halfway through his rum, head filled only with thoughts of 'all my friends are stupid'.

Monique began eating her salad and watched her brother and cousin send competitive looks back and forth then look around the table and saw Gilbert watching Madeline too, ignoring his wings completely. She looked over at Peter and nudged her head towards Gilbert and Peter looked that way. He smirked and 'accidently' kicked him under the table.

Alfred sipped his soda and looked over at Arthur. "Good rum?" He chuckled lightly. Arthur replied with a thumbs up just as Gilbert jumped and fell off the branch bench.

"Dammit Peter!" He exclaimed.

Arthur started to laugh as he drained his rum, nodding approvingly to Peter. "Good job kid."

Peter smiled innocently at the albino on the ground.

Maddy looked over worriedly. "Are you okay?" She asked, sitting up to see him.

Gilbert grumbled as he clambered back up, settling himself again and dusting himself off. "I'm fine." He grunted and picked up a wing and drizzled Tobasco sauce all over it. After one bite he recoiled and dropped it back on the plate. "Hot!" He cried, chugging his beer to soothe his flaming mouth.

Arthur laughed and waved his fork at him, a piece of lettuce and strawberry speared on it. "I wonder why!" He exclaimed with a sarcastic laugh. By now he was almost done with his rum, and the waitress delivered another.

Francis finished off the baguette and started to eat his soup with the spoon. "Gilbert, you always do this. You always order the hottest thing on the menu and dunk it in hot sauce, proclaim that your awesome tongue can handle the burn, and then bitch and whine about how hot it is."

Antonio laughed as he ate his chicken wrap. "That's the good thing about Gil, he never changes. He's been like this since we were in high school."

"Alcohol won't help the burn." Maddy advised.

"It didn't, not at all, can I have some of your tea?" Gilbert panted.

Maddy nodded and handed her iced tea to him. "Al is the same, but ever since last summer he avoids spicy food because he went to his uncle's down south and they served him some soup that was full of hot peppers and ghost chilies. Poor baby couldn't taste right for a few days."

Alfred pouted. "They told me it was tomato soup, so I straight up drank it out of the bowl."

Gilbert sipped the tea and then used his spoon to dig out two ice cubes and popped them in his mouth. "Ah geez, that must've hurt like hell." He said in sympathy.

Alfred nodded. "Oh yeah, it did. I don't recommend it, like, I wouldn't wish that upon anyone. Actually no, I would want Lars to choke down that soup, all of it." He smirked.

Maddy glared at Alfred. "Alfie shush and eat your sandwich."

Antonio's brow furrowed. "Lars?"

Francis looked quickly at Madeline. Was he an ex? Had he hurt her?

Maddy sighed. "God dammit Alfred." She whispered and looked up and nodded. "Lars was my high school boyfriend, but when I dated him I wasn't myself. Um, this isn't lunchtime conversation, so maybe later." She frowned, not wanting to discuss it right now.

Francis opened his mouth to question further but saw the look on her face and decided against it. Gilbert felt a prick of anger. It was obvious this guy had done something to this sweet girl, and at the moment he wanted nothing more than to kick his ass. He looked down at his plate and corrected himself. Eat these wings, and then kick ass. He carefully avoided the Tobasco sauce covered wing and tasted a different one. Luckily it was much better.

Maddy ate her salad thinking on how to change the subject then Alfred did it for her. "You guys like to go to parties and have fun, right?" He asked optimistically.

Peter giggled. "Arthur shouldn't be allowed to party."

"Shut up Peter. Yes, we are quite the wild ones." Arthur snapped and then replied. Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio all nodded in agreement.

Alfred smirked. "Why don't Maddy and I show you the hottest club around tonight? It's huge and they play great music."

Madeline looked at Alfred exasperatedly. "They're probably jet lagged."

Monique smiled. "Francis wants to go." She said for her brother.

"I'll go." Arthur said.

"Do they do karaoke? If they do then Arthur and I are so singing." Gilbert gave a wide grin.

"Yeah!" Antonio said brightly.

Alfred's eyes sparkled. "Really! That would be totally awesome!"

Maddy smiled. "Yeah, they have a stage. Sometimes they hold small concerts there, and karaoke once a week. You guys are pretty popular so you should have no problem."

"Today is Saturday right?" Gilbert asked Arthur.

"Yeah."

"Well, most bars have karaoke nights either on Friday or Saturday, so is this one of them? I don't want to have to use my sexiness against them." Gilbert smirked.

Peter and Monique both immediately started laughing. Peter almost choked on his juice as Gil called himself sexy.

Maddy noticed and giggled a little at their laughter. "They seem to disagree."

Alfred chuckled. "Maddy, I'm pretty sure you were calling him hot when I made you watch the show." He grinned.

Gilbert perked up. "See kids? I was right!" He said triumphantly. "Hey Maddy, we should sing a duet! You know, since you're head over heels for me and all."

Arthur rolled his eyes. They'd just met these two. This little group of theirs sure did make themselves comfortable.

Madeline blushed red and shook her head furiously. "No no no no no, I don't sing!" She said.

Monique shook her head as well. "Don't harass Madeline, you're going to scare her away."

Peter disagreed. "I think he should continue talking to her, maybe she'll make him less hyper!"

Gilbert drained his beer and flipped him off. "Shut up Peter. Are you sure Maddy? I think you'd be great!"

Madeline nodded firmly. "I'm very sure, thank you for the offer though?"  
Alfred noticed most people were pretty much done with their food so he asked a waiter to bring them their check.

Arthur went to lean back in his chair, but alas it was not a chair and he toppled backwards over the branch bench, landing on his head with a pained noise and a vehement exclamation. Gilbert, relieved that it wasn't only him to do it, burst out laughing, as did Antonio and Francis.  
Maddy and Alfred both sat up to check if he was okay.

Peter snorted. "Are you okay?"

The waiter walked over and handed Alfred the bill and saw Arthur on the ground. "Are you okay, sir?"

"I'm fine." He grunted, rubbing the back of his head where a lump was forming. A spot of blood discolored his blond hair but he didn't seem bothered by it. "Just me being clumsy."

"Sure you didn't have too much to drink?" Gilbert teased.

"Screw you." Arthur said good-naturedly.

Alfred grabbed the money plus tip and tucked it in the black check folder *****.

Maddy finished her salad and looked at Arthur. "Do you want me to check it for you?" She asked, concerned.

Alfred sighed. "Maddy, he's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

"I'm fine." Arthur repeated. It did sting, but that was to be expected. "I believe we have to buy some ingredients and then you two were going to have a cook off?"

Maddy giggled. "Oh yeah, that slipped my mind. Well, Alfie already paid so when everyone is done we can go."

Monique nodded. "Well I'm finished, and so is Peter."

"Oh, Alfred paid? You didn't have to." Arthur said worriedly.

"We're all done." Antonio said.

Alfred smiled. "Don't worry, you don't mind at all." They started getting up and Alfred looked at Arthur. "Toss me the keys."

Maddy nodded. "And Gilbert, you're coming with me. I'll text Eric to pick up the last car, he works at a repo company place and owes me one." She smiled and pulled out her phone to text him.

Arthur tossed him the keys and they left the restaurant. Gilbert trailed after Madeline and Arthur jeered at him. "I trust you'll be returning the Volkswagens and getting something more practical?"

"Yeah." Gilbert muttered. Arthur smirked triumphantly.


	5. In Which Arthur Sings

**Heyy, haha yeah I was uber lazy. No excuse for why this is so late, it had already been written. 2cute4lyfe and I have written up to chapter 11, so if I can quit being lazy then updates will be quick~!**

 **Roleplay with 2cute4lyfe.**

 **We do not own Hetalia.**

 **Oh, and before I forget, I realized I forgot to tell you who Monique was (thanks fairytailasaurus!). Monique is Monaco, hence her being Francis's younger sister.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed so far, thank you for the kind reviews, and thank you for reading this story! I hope you continue reading~**

* * *

"Hey Gil, do you want the top up or down?" Maddy asked.

"Down!" He said cheerily. He loved the feel of wind in his hair, part of the reason he'd insisted upon motorcycles for the show.

Maddy nodded and started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. "I have a few CDs if you wanna play one." She offered

"Do you have any Rammstein?" Gilbert asked seriously, even though it was a one in a million chance.

"Yeah, it's the second CD." She replied and grabbed it and handed it to him.

"Wow, you actually have it?" Gilbert cried. "I love you! No one ever knows who Rammstein is!"

Maddy giggled. "I like Rammstein. Actually, in college I had a project where I had to read the essays of extremely smart high school and early college kids or something, and this one kid from Germany wrote an amazing anatomy essay. I really liked it and contacted him, so we wrote back and forth and he mentioned Rammstein once. I checked it out and instantly fell in love with the sound." She said.

"You're out of college already? You're nineteen." Gilbert asked, puzzled.

Maddy giggled again. "I meant freshman year of college." She corrected. "But yeah, he was this cutie from Germany named Ludwig or something." She said and tapped her nails against the wheel as she drove.

"That's my brother!" Gilbert screamed. "LUDWIG LIKES RAMMSTEIN? THAT ARSCHLOCH! HE LIED TO ME!" Gilbert lost his head, pulling out his phone and speed dialing Ludwig to shout at him.

Maddy squealed at his quick change of attitude. "Oh, he's your brother?" She asked softly, still surprised by his animated reaction.

"Yes!" Gilbert waited for Ludwig to pick up.

Ludwig answered his phone. "What, Gil." He asked dryly while walking with Feliciano.

"You lying asshole. You said you didn't like Rammstein! You called them garbage when I was listening to them in the car!" Gilbert accused.

Ludwig sighed. "Gil, what are you talking about? How do you know?" He asked, confused.

"Madeline Williams." Gilbert growled, eyes narrowing. "Francis's cousin. She told me _everything_."

Maddy looked at Gil in amusement. "Be nice." She warned.

Ludwig paused. "Wait, my college pen pal was related to Francis?" He asked in surprise.

"Yeah, they're like long lost cousins. Anyways, why the hell did you lie? We could have enjoyed a quality band together!" Gilbert asked, frustrated.

Ludwig sighed. "Because if I agreed, you would probably start fangirling. I just like to listen to them and relax."

Gilbert stuck out his tongue, even though Ludwig couldn't see him. "I would not have fangirled! ...I would have fan _boyed_."

Ludwig rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, tell Madeline I said hi. Goodbye Gil." He said and promptly hung up.

Gilbert looked at Madeline. "He said hi."

Maddy laughed. "Oh yay, he still remembers me."

 _ **And meanwhile, with Arthur and Alfred...**_

Alfred unlocked the green Volkswagen and got in the driver's seat.

Arthur climbed into the passenger seat and looked at Alfred. "We should race your sister to the grocery store." He said seriously.

Alfred chuckled. "Two problems with that. First, my sister doesn't race, and second, this car versus her Dodge Charger? I'm not sure about that, bro." He chuckled and started the car and rolled the windows down and turned the radio on.

"Aw." Arthur sulked for a minute and then dug through his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Queen?"

Alfred nodded. "Of course."

Arthur smiled and plugged his phone into the auxiliary jack and put his Queen songs on shuffle.

Alfred quickly glanced at Arthur and his pulse began rising again as the Brit smiled, his eyes full of happiness. A pale pink flush appeared in his cheeks and he turned back to the road.

"Um, you don't mind if I sing along, do you? It's a habit." Arthur asked awkwardly.

"Go ahead." Alfred said with false indifference. Inside his chest, his heart thrummed excitedly.

Arthur leaned back in the seat as his phone played Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy, opening his mouth and singing along perfectly. Of course, he knew the song by heart. His eyes slipped closed and his head tilted back, the words flowing from his lips like honey. His voice adopted a velvety tone, changing pitch with the song. He swayed lightly in time with the music, and when it reached an instrumental he tapped the beat onto his thigh with a forefinger, never opening his eyes.

Alfred's heart fluttered at the silky sound of Arthurs voice. His eyes stayed on the road but his mind but attached to the sound and words escaping his mouth.

" Ooh, love~ Ooh, loverboy~ What're you doin' tonight, hey boy. Everything's all right, just hang on tight because I'm a good old-fashioned lover boy! " He sang and the song ended. Then he seemed to come out of his trance and blinked. "Ah! Sorry! I got way too into it!" He apologized profusely.

"That was incredible!" Alfred said, awed by the emotion and sheer passion in his voice. "Like, that was really amazing!"

"Ah- really? Thanks. I don't normally sing that song in front of other people." Arthur thought for a moment. He didn't, really. He'd only ever sang that to Gilbert and the others. Never anyone else, and yet he had sang it for this stranger he had only met a few hours ago. Puzzled at his own actions, he studied Alfred's face for a short while before speaking up again. "I guess I just feel really comfortable around you."

Alfred blushed like crazy. "Th-th-thank you I suppose." He said nervously and then chuckled. "Sorry I'm so nervous, it's just crazy cause your my idol and stuff and now I'm driving you to the grocery store so my sister can make pancakes with Francis Bonnefoy." He laughed, a bright smile on his face.

Arthur laughed as well. "Don't be nervous. They'll be damn good pancakes."

"They really will." Alfred agreed.

"I can't wait for you to taste the frog's crepes." Arthur licked his lips.

"Well, Maddy's pancakes are to die for!" Alfred grinned and the cars pulled into the parking lot.

"Frog stuffs his crepes with fruit and berries and whip cream." Arthur was practically drooling just thinking about the lovely delicacy.

Alfred frowned. "Yeah, so sorry if this is too forward, but _do_ you and Francis have a history? Cause the fandom ships you two really hard."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "That always comes back to bite us. We dated for a while in college- well, we didn't really date, we were more like friends with benefits."

Alfred nodded, a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Ahh, gotcha. Is that why you guys have an odd relationship? Like, you call him Frog?" He chuckled humorlessly.

"Yeah, and that's why he's way too comfortable with touching me in public." Arthur remarked. "But me calling him Frog has nothing to do with it, I call him that because he is a Frog."

Alfred nodded and stepped out of the car. "I'm sorry for asking."

"It's fine, there's nothing either of us can do about it." Arthur sighed. "It was a mistake of my youth," He murmured, 'and one that's still ongoing.' He thought to himself. "Well, we're here, so we might as well get this over with!"


	6. In Which They Get The Walmart Experience

**Heyyoo~ The usual, this is a roleplay with 2cute4lyfe, and we do not own Hetalia. Enjoy~!**

* * *

"I call the shopping cart!" Gilbert announced as soon as he stepped out of the car.

Antonio, who pulled in just after them, groaned. "You always do, Gil!"

"He'll throw a fit if we don't let him." Francis pointed out.

"You're like a kid!" Maddy commented.

"I like to push." Gilbert explained.

"I don't understand the appeal of steering a shopping cart. I don't like pushing them at all."

"Good, because you won't be pushing any with me here." Gilbert said cheerfully.

"Dammit, Gil took the cart again?! Let the rest of us have a turn!" Arthur complained as he and Alfred approached, the latter wearing a brooding expression.

Maddy thought for a moment. "Let's split up into two teams. That way Francis gets what he needs and one of you can push that cart, and I can get what I need and someone can push this cart."

"Caaarrrtt!" Gilbert dashed off to grab a good one that didn't squeak or rattle.

"What're the teams? Should we make it a contest, to see who can finish first?" Antonio asked.

Maddy shook her head. "That would be unfair because I shop here all the time, and you guys probably have never been here. But I think this way, if we split into teams, it's a secret what we put in our food until later."

"Maddy, you're no fun." He pouted

"Sounds good." Arthur agreed.

"Mon petit lapin, why don't you be on my team?" Francis suggested.

"Shove off, frog." But he teamed with Francis anyways, and looked pointedly at Alfred.

Alfred initially had stood next to his sister but turned to look at Arthur. "What?" He asked cluelessly.

Maddy nudged him. "Go be on their team, they need someone to help them find the ingredients. Antonio can come with us, if he doesn't mind."

"Sure thing, chica. Anything for Francis's cousin." Antonio smiled.

Alfred nodded and went over to where Francis and Arthur were. Being next to both of them now was a little awkward for him, knowing that they used to bang.

"I call the cart." Arthur said immediately and went to get one.

"Gil, follow me with your 'awesome cart skills' I guess." Maddy smiled and walked down the aisle, scanning its contents. "So what kinds of pancakes do you guys like?"

Gilbert pushed the cart with a look of excitement reminiscent to a little kid.

"We're not fussy. Normal, chocolate chip, blueberry, anything!" Antonio said.

"Okay, I'll make a few of each." She said and went over to the chocolate chips, browsing.

"You're the best!" Gilbert cheered.

Maddy smiled and grabbed several bags of milk chocolate, white chocolate, and dark chocolate baking chips and put them in the cart.

Arthur pushed silently, trailing after Francis who went straight for the fresh fruit and berries to judge their quality. With a single sweeping glance over the lot of them, he turned up his nose and looked away.

"We'll just have to stop at a farmer's market on the way back to the house." He said and led the way to the flour section. Luckily most Walmarts were laid out the same.

Alfred followed Arthur quietly, just looking around and observing other people going about their shopping. "Aren't you worried people will recognize you?"

"What am I going to do about it? Wear a disguise?" Arthur shrugged. "It can't be any worse than back in Europe."

Alfred nodded. "I guess so. Francis, what kinda crepes are you making?"

"Several different kinds." Francis selected a bag of flour and went for the spices, picking out some cinnamon. "I'm going to need some kiwis, apricots, raspberries, peaches, and blueberries from the farmer's market. Ah, I should get some chocolate to make chocolate sauce." He mused.

Alfred's mouth watered. "Sounds pretty good!"

"They will be. He makes them once a week for breakfast; he has to make a few dozen of them for all of us." Arthur assured him.

Alfred nodded. "Nice. Also, just curious, while shooting Agent X did you guys jump hotels when you traveled? Or was it like, we go there for a day and go back home." He asked. Being a big fan of the show, this was a great opportunity.

"Am I being interviewed?" Arthur laughed. "We went from hotel to hotel; we all live too far away from the filming locations to just go home at the end of each day."

"Sorry that I'm asking all these questions, I'm just really curious." He apologized.

"It's fine." Arthur said. "Ask away." Francis looked at them both and frowned.

Alfred thought. "Okay, so at lunch you spoke of a new show? Did you guys already plan it?"

"Not yet, why, do you have ideas?" Arthur asked.

Alfred shook his head. "Not really. Well, I would say a spin-off of Agent X, with more of their origin stories and such, but that's all I could think of."

"Oh, that's a good idea!" Arthur pulled out his phone to text the others but at that moment he was noticed.

* * *

Madeline went and got things to make her pancake batter. "So, how was the flight here? Do you guys have your own jet?"

"Yeah, we do. It was still a long flight, though." Antonio replied while Gilbert made racecar noises and pushed his cart in circles.

Maddy nodded and watched Gil. "Why?" She asked, barely holding in laughter.

"This is why he likes pushing the carts. Just watch him, he gets really into it." Antonio chuckled.

And as they watched, Gilbert started riding on the cart, using one foot to push himself along like he was riding a scooter or a skateboard. Eventually his weight started to work with him and the front of the cart rose up into a wheelie, causing him to let out a whoop of excitement.

Madeline laughed. "Good thing I didn't have anything fragile in the cart."

"It would be broken." Antonio nodded in agreement, and then he winced as Gilbert accidentally crashed into a display and hurriedly escaped the scene with a few choice swears, ditching the cart and things inside. *****

Madeline sighed, walked over to the display and fixed the stand upright. Then she started picking up the things he knocked down and putting them back on the stand as a store employee walked over to question what happened. Madeline finished and looked at the employee. "I'm terribly sorry ma'am, it's just… I just got a call that my father was in ICU so I wasn't paying attention to where I was going!" She said, her eyes watering slightly.

The woman nodded. "It's fine miss, I hope your father is okay" She said sympathetically.

Maddy nodded and pushed the cart away to where the boys stood watching and gave the cart back to Gil. "Watch where you're going." She warned sternly, the crocodile tears completely gone.

"Sorry ma'am." Gilbert squeaked.

"Is your dad really in the ICU?" Antonio asked in concern.

Maddy shook her head. "Nope, he is probably in his office getting fucked by his disgusting gold-digging wife," she said bitterly. "But the employee would be mad if she found out that a grown man being careless and spinning in circles is why the display broke." She said matter-of-factly and put the chocolate ships back into the cart.

"Oh." Antonio looked down sheepishly. "Sorry I asked."

Maddy smiled. "It's fine, sorry if you're uncomfortable that I lied. I'm so used to it with Alfred."

Two teen girls were walking down the aisle with soda and one of them stopped when they saw Arthur "It's Arthur Kirkland!" She screamed and ran towards him and the other girl followed, equally excited. "Oh my gosh, Francis Bonnefoy too!" The girl shouted.

Arthur looked up and cursed. He and Francis were forced to get closer together as more people came to see.

Alfred watched, surprised and confused, as the girls came at them. The next second he was shoved by the teen girls, so he stepped back and retreated to a safe distance away, wishing he could help but knowing that there was nothing he could do.

Gilbert's head perked up at a commotion in the next aisle over and he heard Arthur and Francis's names. "Shit!" He swore and he and Antonio ran over to save them, completely forgetting Madeline.

Maddy followed them with the cart and saw what was going on. "Oh god," she whispered looking at all the fangirls and fanboys crowding Arthur and Francis.

"ARE YOU GUYS DATING?!" One girl yelled and the others started asking the same thing.

"ARTHUR AND FRANCIS ARE IN LOVE!"

"KISS!"

"KISS HIM!"

"MAKE OUT!"

All of the girls were now yelling and pushing each other, trying to get closer, and the employees ran to try to help the poor men.

Gilbert and Antonio pushed through the crowd and stood protectively in front of the two victims. "Leave them alone! Quit harassing them, they're not dating and never will!"

The girls just screamed more in response.

"OH MY GOD, IT'S GIL AND TONI! GIL, DO YOU AND ARTHUR HAVE A SECRET RELATIONSHIP?"

"NO, ARTHUR IS OBVIOUSLY WITH FRANCIS!"

"GIL AND ARTHUR ARE CLOSER IN THE SHOW! PLUS HE IS PROTECTING HIM NOW!"

The employees continued to try to help and one of them called the police.

The girls kept fighting and one girl punched another for disagreeing with her. "Arthur and Francis, bitch!"

Then a full out fangirl war ensued and they began grabbing at the actors and each other.

"None of us are dating anyone!" Gilbert cried in exasperation, throwing his hands up in the air.

"THEY'RE SINGLE!"

"THEY'RE AVAILABLE!"

The police soon arrived and broke up the riot of teens. The girl that threw the first punch was escorted away and all the other fans finally dispersed and left the store.

Alfred was in shock. "That was horrifying."

Maddy stood next to him, also in utter disbelief. "They went ballistic…"

"Those are our fans." Arthur said with a wry smile. "Frankly, I'm surprised it took that long for us to be spotted."

"That's the life of a celebrity." Francis said, disgruntled, as he smoothed down his mussed hair.

"Do we have everything?" Antonio asked. "Can we just get out of here?"

Maddy checked the cart. "Um, I need more things, but you guys can go, I'll just catch up." She said apologetically.

"No Maddy, finish your shopping. I still need chocolate." Francis said.

Maddy nodded. "Okay" she spoke and looked at Gil. "Ready, Mr. Cart Driver?" She asked, stepping away from the shopping cart so he could steer.

"Yessir!" Gilbert saluted and rode the cart again, this time at a manageable speed.

Alfred looked at Arthur. "Are you okay? They were groping a lot and I wasn't sure if one of them punched you by accident."

"I'm fine." He had in fact been groped, in two places he would rather not have been. Of course it wasn't just him that had fallen victim to bad touches; it had been all of them.

Alfred nodded. "Okay, let's go get that chocolate."

"Do they have Ghirardelli?" Francis mused.

"Yeah, it's over in the candy aisle."

Maddy smiled and continued on her journey to get everything she needs for her specialty pancakes.

Francis picked a bag of marshmallows as well and went to the candy aisle.

Soon everyone got what they needed and checked out and went outside. Maddy started putting the stuff in her trunk.

Alfred helped Arthur and Francis put the stuff in the back. Monique and peter were still in the backseat of Francis's car playing games on their phones.

"Oh, that's where you were?" Antonio asked bewilderedly.

"So now for the the bake off?" Gilbert smirked. "No one can outcook Francis, sorry Maddy. I'm excited to see you try, though."

Madeline smiled. "I'm positive he could wreck me in any cooking contest except pancakes." She said confidently and got in the car.

"You're gonna be sorry~" Gilbert sang.

Maddy shook her head patronizingly. "No, you'll be sorry because you're going to love my pancakes so much that you will eat your words- but only after your done eating the pancakes." She smirked.

"Ooh, you think you're hot stuff don't you?" Gilbert cocked his head with a challenging smirk. "We'll see."

* * *

After a short few minutes, Arthur suddenly grew awkward, remembering what he had done in this car and stuff that had been said afterwards. He looked over at Alfred in the driver's seat. "This has been an eventful few hours." He remarked.

Alfred nodded. "Yeah, but the mob of fangirls thing could of ended a lot worse, and I'm pretty sure Maddy and Francis got everything they needed." On the outside he smiled, but really he felt sick. His fantasy was always to meet Arthur Kirkland and hope he would fall in love with him so they could live happily ever after, like some stupid Disney shit, but instead here he is, escorting a slightly intoxicated Arthur Kirkland back to his home which he shares with another hot guy he used to screw, and this nervousness and realization began to take a toll on him.

"Plus we just met this morning and we're already friends. We are friends, right?" Arthur looked at him carefully, wondering if he made the assumption too quickly.

Alfred was snapped out of his thoughts and looked over quickly then back at the road. "Yeah, I guess." He said softly. "It helps that my sister is related to-" He stopped for moment to think over what he was going to say and internally sighed, "-that she's related to Francis." He corrected so he didn't seem suspicious.

Compared to the drive to Walmart, the ride back to the house was relatively uneventful. They stopped briefly at the local farmer's market to pick up the fresh fruit Francis desired, and for the rest of the drive Arthur made idle chitchat with Alfred and Gilbert sang along to his favorite German band in his native language.

Pulling into the driveway, the pastel Volkswagens lined up neatly.

Gilbert jumped out and shouted, "NOW, THE PANCAKE VERSUS CREPES BATTLE BEGINS!"

* * *

 ***Believe it or not, I've witnessed this happen. I see a lot of interesting things in various stores. And yes, it was a grown man. There was a small child in the cart. Needless to say, he got kicked out of the store.**


	7. In Which Madeline Cries

**Hehe, two chapters in one night! Yay!**

 **Roleplay with 2cute4lyfe, and we do not own Hetalia.**

* * *

Maddy got out and grabbed the groceries and walked towards the door.

Alfred went inside with some of Francis' bags and put them on the kitchen counter. Monique went to the door and Peter held it open for her and Maddy.

Maddy thanked Peter and stepped inside to the kitchen.

"You kids really sat in the car that whole time? Hm. I wondered where you were." Gilbert patted Peter's head with a short laugh. "You missed quite a lot."

"Don't lie to the children, Gil. It was a nightmare. I'm never stepping foot in Walmart ever again." Francis grumbled, striding by with the bag of flour in his hand. "Thanks for the help, Alfred."

Monique blinked. "What happened?!" She asked worriedly.

Maddy took everything out of the bags and shook her head. "It was scary. Arthur and Francis got circled by a group of psycho fans."

"It's the curse of being so sexy!" Gilbert cried dramatically. "I too was caught up in the mayhem when I selflessly risked my life to save them!"

"Twat." Arthur smacked him upside the head. "The police had to come and calm them down. They kept accusing Francis and I of being in a relationship. As if!" He scoffed.

Alfred looked down at the counter as he helped Maddy.

Monique began laughing. "Aw that's cute, you think we don't know."

Peter stuck his tongue out. "Ew, not the frog".

Monique pinched his cheek to shush him while she laughed. "Arthur, no need to pretend, we ALL know."

Peter was confused so he just stood next to the laughing teen for a moment. "Um, I'm going to go text Raivis, bye." He said, wanting to escape the strange situation. Then he turned and dashed off to his bedroom.

"We're not dating!" Arthur snapped. "Don't you say that too!"

Francis knew he was trying to avoid the behind-the-scenes relationship and nodded vehemently. "I'd never date that English prude!" He lied smoothly.

Monique walked towards Francis and patted her brother's shoulder. "Exactly, you would never _date_." She said putting emphasis on the last word.

Peter returned, grabbed Monique's hand, and dragged her away so she could stop testing their patience. Maddy looked over at Monique as she was being dragged out of the room, also confused. Alfred held back a sigh and finished emptying Maddy's bags. Arthur and Francis exchanged looks and looked down simultaneously.

'I would... I want to...' Francis thought miserably.

'I've been meaning to call it off...' Arthur thought miserably.

Maddy noticed the awkward silence and quickly changed the subject. "So… cooking time?" She asked light-heartedly. Alfred set everything up for her and stepped out of the way.

Francis nodded briskly and strode away from his romantic interest. "Cooking time." He agreed and fetched two bowls from the cabinet.

Maddy also grabbed a large bowl and began adding ingredients to make batter. Alfred, ever the helpful one, handed her stuff when she needed it.

Francis broke up the chocolate and put it in a pan to melt, placing it on the stove but not yet turning it on. Next he made the batter and whipped it to make it light and airy.

Maddy continued to mix her ingredients then got a pan ready and as the pan heated she added some of the chocolate chips to the first batch of batter.

Francis poured some batter in a greased pan and started his first crepe, and as it cooked he worked on topping and fillings.

Maddy finished mixing the chocolate into it and picked the bowl up to bring it to the pan.

"Oh! So who's that Lars asshole?" Gilbert suddenly remembered.

Madeline heard the name and in her shock, dropped the bowl and it shattered, multiple pieces gliding across the floor and a second after she realized what happened and crouched down to pick the pieces up. "I'm so sorry," she said softly.

Gilbert jumped. "Ah! Shit! I'm sorry, did I make you do that?" He yelped, getting down on his hands and knees to help clean up. Courteously, Francis flipped his crepe and turned off the burner to bend down and help as well.

Maddy shook her head. "It's not your fault, I was just caught off guard. Again, I'm so sorry." She said.

"It's fine!" Antonio said as he and Arthur rushed into the kitchen. Lukas and Matthias trailed after them, both of them sporting ruffled hair and bruised lips.

"What happened?" Matthias asked in bewilderment.

"I'm so sorry! This is my fault, isn't it?" Gilbert cried, wide eyed in distress.

Maddy looked down. "Thank you." She said as they finished cleaning. She threw out the pieces she picked up and Alfred got stuff to clean the batter up with and began cleaning it.

Lukas and Matthias stepped delicately over the splatters of pancake batter and the latter looked about curiously. Maddy saw the crowd that her mistake created and sighed. "I am so sorry guys." She said and saw Matthias and Lukas. "I'm Francis's cousin Madeline, nice to meet you." She said shyly then went to help Alfred.

"Hello Madeline. I'm Lukas, this is Matthias. The idiot."

"Hey, that's not nice!" Matthias protested.

"It's true." Lukas grunted and they left the kitchen again. Arthur and Antonio returned to their respective bedrooms.

Arthur looked on with an amused expression. "Lukas is kind of antisocial and Matthias follows him around like a puppy. You probably won't be seeing much of them."

"Would you like help with a new batch, mon cher?" Francis offered.

Maddy shrugged. "They seem nice anyway." To Francis, she said "No, it's okay, but thank you anyways." She smiled and finished cleaning the batter and took a deep breath and grabbed a new bowl. "So, you wanted to know about Lars?" She asked Gil and went back to her station and started from scratch.

"If it's going to make you break stuff, I'm fine not knowing." Gilbert said awkwardly.

Maddy shook her head. "It was just unexpected. I'll tell you, I said I would anyway." Alfred wiped up the floor, then washed his hands and went to help his sister. Francis resumed cooking. The crepe had cooked on the still hot surface of the pan and was finished, so he set it aside to cool and started a new one, relighting his burner.

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it." Gilbert muttered, passing her ingredients.

Maddy looked at him and nodded. "Thanks, but you'll probably find out anyway, so why not get it out of the way, right?" She smiled and stared down at her bowl. "Lars was my high school boyfriend, and at the time he was the love of my life. He was tall, had blonde hair, green eyes, played on the hockey team… When I was a sophomore he was a senior, but we started dating." She said as she mixed the ingredients

"Unlikely pair." Gilbert looked at her, at her nerdy appearance, and wondered what interest a jock would have in her.

Francis flipped his crepe unnecessarily hard, already able to guess how this story ended

"I would help coach the hockey team, so that's where we met. He was a big pothead though, and a month after I started dating him, I started smoking pot too, but not as much as him. And I started to dress different, and I hung out with his friends rather than my own." She continued while adding more chocolate chips. "I thought I was in love, but I was young and stupid. When he graduated he got into selling drugs but I didn't care, no, I was too in love with the idea of being loved."

"In love with the idea of being loved..." Francis murmured, peeling peaches. He knew that only all too well.

Gilbert frowned. He didn't like where this was going.

"Well, senior year was when I really was out of it. Wearing skimpy clothing and acting like his personal whore; it went on a downward spiral. He started to control my whole life. He picked out what I wore and what I did, what I ate and what I didn't." She said, trying to hold back tears as she poured batter in the pan. "Alfred realized how bad it truly was and tried to help me, but I pushed him away because I thought Lars did it because he loved me." She spoke softly and sorrowfully. "And then one night, he was driving drunk on his way to go make a sale. The cops got him, and the night before the trial he fled. I never saw him again."

Francis nodded grimly. He'd guessed as much.

Gilbert scowled. "Sounds like a real asshole." He said nastily. "You don't miss him, do you?"

Madeline shook her head. "It took me a year to get over him and to realize that he really didn't love me, that he was just using a young girl for his own personal entertainment." She said coldly and flipped the pancake.

"Did he... you know." Gilbert grit his teeth.

"Did he rape you?" Francis said angrily, slamming down the knife and turning to look at her with a deadly serious expression.

Maddy sighed. "No, sadly, I was very willing. Because I was so stupid, I lost something I could never get back." She whispered and put the pancake on a plate and started to make another.

"Madeline, you said he was a senior! That makes him of age! It would have been rape regardless of how willing you were!" Francis shouted. Gilbert left the room before he snapped as well. He was furious, he could barely think straight. This asshole used this sweet girl for his own selfish needs!

"He was 17 and I was 15 when we first had sex, but after he turned 18... Ugh, I hate to think of it like that! I don't want to realize that it was rape! And you know what? Even then my father wouldn't press charges! Hell, my father would cover it up! Cause it would ruin his family's image!" She replied angrily. "I need a moment." She said and ran outside. Gilbert watched her run outside from just outside the kitchen and before anyone else could, he went after her.

Alfred was leaning against the wall, hating himself for not helping his sister when she needed it.

Francis turned off the stove again. "I think I'm going to call off the contest. We should just be cooking because we enjoy it, not for competition." Francis said.

Alfred nodded. "Yeah." He agreed with Francis and put the pancake she was making on the plate because it was finished.

As he waited, Francis resumed his cooking so he wasn't anxiously standing and awaiting their return. "Want to help?" He asked Alfred.

Alfred nodded. "Sure." He smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "What was Maddy like as a young child? I've always wondered, cause we didn't get reunited until 5th grade."

Francis smiled fondly as he reminisced. "She was a very active child, always getting into everything. Stubborn, too. If you told her no it meant yes, and if you said yes it meant yes. If she wanted it, she got it. Everyone adored her; she was the angel of the family. Everyone missed her terribly after she left."

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "Sounds nothing like when I met her, but then again who would be happy about being taken away from your family." He said, his smile falling slightly.

Francis nodded solemnly. "She left very suddenly. None of us were expecting it."

"Our dad sucks." Alfred said honestly. "I hate him."

"If he is the one that took her away, I feel the same way." Francis muttered. "But I can't hate him for bringing you two together. You need each other."

"She probably would have been happier with her mother, not here." Alfred admitted.

Francis sighed. "Her mother... died, two years after she left."

* * *

"Birdie?" Gilbert called.

Maddy was crouched against the outside of the house with tears streaming down her face, her purple eyes glassy. She looked up when she heard the thick accent. "I'm sorry I ran, this is childish of me." She spoke softly in between hiccups.

"No, no it's not." Gilbert said with a surprisingly gentle look on his face. He crouched next to her and offered a hug. "We all go through things like this, there's nothing wrong with it. Franny didn't mean to shout at you, he's just worried. You're his cousin and he hasn't seen you since you were kids, he's bound to be protective."

Maddy leaned against him and accepted the hug. "I don't care that he yelled at me. I'm actually glad he did, because it does show he cares. He and I were best friends, and even though I haven't seen him in so long, it feels like nothing has changed." She sniffled.

"He never shut up about you." Gilbert said softly. "All he ever did was sing you praises. If this Lars guy couldn't see what a great person you are, he wasn't worth it anyways. He's not worth your tears."

Madeline smiled softly and sniffled then looked up at Gilbert. "Thank you" She said quietly. Her cheeks were red and a little blotchy, eyes still glassy with unshed tears.

"I like you, Birdie." Gilbert said softly. "I just met you today and I know that you are an awesome person, just as awesome as me even! Don't let unawesome jerks ruin your day. Don't forget, you have a whole bunch of pancakes inside just waiting to be created! Don't let them down!"

Madeline smiled more and she giggled a little. "Thank you Gil. Also, Gil? Why did you call me Birdie?" She asked.

"Well... Cause birds are awesome!" Gilbert shrugged, cheeks tinted pink.

Maddy smiled and kissed his cheek quickly and stood. Gilbert led her back inside just in time to hear Francis's last remark.

Madeline looked at them then looked down. "Je souhaite que mon père est mort à la place de son." ***** She spoke in French and her eyes hazed over again. "What kind of father doesn't let a daughter go to her own mother's funeral? I can't wait to see _him_ in the ground."

Alfred looked at Maddy, wanting to snuggle the shit out of her with her miserable tear stained face.

Francis pushed Alfred towards her and watched then embrace, tears pricking his own eyes. "Damn..." He murmured. He didn't even know she knew. Gilbert looked between Francis and Madeline, aghast. He should have kept her out for another minute or two.

Madeline hugged her brother and looked at Francis. "I found out because my dad told me, but he wouldn't let me fly home to be there for her funeral."

"I'm so sorry, Madeline. I should have come and brought you myself." He said regretfully.

Maddy pulled away from Alfred and shook her head. "No, its fine, you didn't know."

"I'm sorry, Madeline." Francis said again, drawing her close to him. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

 ***Rough translation- I wish my father died instead of her.**

 **That French is probably wrong btw. Don't trust us.**

 **So yeah, shit went down. I feel bad for Maddy. Oh well, this story is going to be full of shit storms like that. Be prepared ;)**


	8. In Which There Are Cats

**Eeeeee, three chapters tonight! Well, I can't be too proud. I edited this before the last two so it was already done. It's uber short, but the cats are just so epic they're entitled to their own chapter.**

 **Roleplay with 2cute4lyfe, and neither of us own Hetalia. We are not a Japanese man by the name of Hidekaz Himaruya.**

 **Oh, and this chapter continues on from the previous with just a few minute gap.**

* * *

The front door burst open and the twins walked in carrying several crates, followed by Ludwig who had three dogs on a leash. "We picked up the cats! And Luddy got his dogs!" Feliciano announced brightly. Feliciano set down his crate and opened it, releasing five cats. Lovino released six of them and the eleven cats scattered.

Francis crouched down and greeted a fluffy cream-colored Persian that trotted up to him. "Hello, Jocque." Francis greeted. Gilbert burst out laughing and Francis gave him a dirty look. "Shut up, your cat is named Gilcat."

As if on cue, a sleek white cat with a scar over its eye approached Gilbert, a tiny yellow bird perched on its head. "Hi Gilcat, hi Gilbird." Gilbert said happily.

Maddy covered her mouth, holding in a squeal. "There are too many cute animals at one time!"

Ludwig knew the dogs would behave so he took them off the leash and they wandered off to check out the area. Seeing Madeline, he sighed deeply. "Oh no, you were actually with my brother? I'm so sorry." He said sympathetically and shook her hand. "Nice to finally meet you in person."

Maddy smiled. "Nice to meet you too Ludwig."

Gilbert scooped up Gilcat and Gilbird fluttered onto his head, chirping cutely. "Be nice, Luddy. Ludcat is waiting for you." He pointed at the dark gray feline; of course, Ludcat was not her real name.

Ludwig rolled his eyes. "Please don't call Gretel that, she doesn't like it, and I am being nice. Speaking to a person on my intellectual level is nice for a change." He said disdainfully and walked off to greet the dark gray cat.

Arthur came running into the kitchen with a ginger and white Scottish Fold in his arms. "When did Merlin get here?" He asked in surprise and then saw the rest of the cats. "Why."

Lovino saw Alfred trying to coax a cat over to him and raised an eyebrow. "Who the hell are you?" He asked casually while petting his own cat, Basil.

"Oh, you're back!" Arthur said, putting two and two together. The next second he was tackled by a Doberman.

"That's Alfred." Gilbert said to Lovino as he shoved a cat into Alfred's arms. "Here, this is Loki, Lukas's cat. He's into Norse mythology."

Lovino nodded and resumed petting his tabby.

Francis moved Jocque away from the food and set him on a chair. "I'll give you a crepe, just wait patiently." He told him and the cat meowed in agreement, settling down and starting to groom himself.

Gilbert put Gilcat in the chair next to Jocque and adjusted the torn German flag ribbon around his neck, patting his silky head fondly.

Maddy smiled and walked over and put a hand out to Jocque and Gilcat to let them sniff her hand. "They are so cute!" She gushed.

Arthur handed his cat Merlin to Alfred. "Can you hold him too? Thanks." Then he walked over to Francis and smacked him. "You don't feed your cat crepes, you'll make him sick! You put chocolate in them!"

"I wouldn't put chocolate in his!" Francis said defensively.

"There's fruit in them! Does he like peaches? Does he like raspberries? Hm? And what about kiwis? Or strawberries, or blueberries? I don't think so!" Arthur snapped, hands on hips.

"You're not the Queen! You can't tell me what to do!" Nevertheless, Francis did not give Jocque a crepe.

* * *

 **Francis should know better. Arthur is like everyone's mother, or in this case angry wife.**

 **Well, this is the last chapter for tonight. Sorry, but it's nearly 10:30pm and I'm exhausted.**

 **Next chapter- In Which Arthur Discovers The Shrine**


	9. In Which Arthur Discovers the Shrine

**Well, this frequently updating thing could be a problem. 2cute4lyfe and I haven't written anything in about two days and are still on chapter 11. So, one more chapter before a short hiatus. :|**

 **Roleplay with 2cute4lyfe.**

 **We do not own Hetalia.**

* * *

Later than night, when the animals were settled and asleep on their masters' beds, the gang gathered once more in the kitchen. The crepes and pancakes had been a huge success and even now, four hours later, they had comfortably full stomachs from overeating.

"Alright, so you two will lead the way, correct?" Arthur asked. "And we'll follow in the van." For a short while ago, Gilbert had reluctantly traded in the Volkswagens for a black 11-passenger van and they had spent an hour painting the Agent X logo on both sides in jagged silver letters like lightning bolts.

Maddy nodded. "Yeah, but if we're going to the club I need to change." She said looking down at her red shirt that had a nice coat of cat hair all over it, her leggings also covered.

"Do you guys need to go back to your place to change? Should we come with and head to the club from there?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah, or you can call a cab and we will meet you there." She offered, not wanting them to make them wait.

"We'll go!" Feliciano said brightly. "Can I help you pick something?" Even working with him, Arthur couldn't comprehend how someone as innocent and cheerful as Feliciano could play such a deadly and serious character.

Maddy smiled. "Sure, Feliciano." Throughout the time they'd known each other, the Italian had been nothing but nice and adorable.

Alfred chuckled. "I'm still in minor shock that we are all getting along and not too long ago I was watching the season finale."

"Yesterday, wasn't it? I liked that episode." Lukas said absently.

"Yeah, it was one of the best ones for your character this season." Arthur agreed.

Alfred agreed strongly. "It was intense, with all the death flashbacks and stuff."

"We like being dramatic." Arthur said sheepishly. "So, w-"

Lovino stomped his foot. "We're always late to things because you assholes never shut up! Let's go!"

Alfred chuckled. "Okay, okay, let's get going. Feliciano are you going to ride with Maddy?" He asked.

"Yup!" Feliciano went with Maddy and hopped in her car.

"Well, do you want to ride with us then?" Francis offered Alfred.

Alfred shrugged. "Sure, if you don't mind."

Maddy smiled and said bye and drove off to her house to get ready.

"Alright, get in." Arthur hopped in through the back doors and selected a seat in the middle.

* * *

They pulled into the driveway after Maddy and Arthur looked out the window at a large white house with sky blue siding.

Feliciano hopped out of Maddy's car and ran to the door, standing excitedly on the porch. Lovino rolled his eyes and muttered something about a stupid fratello. Maddy smiled and walked up and unlocked the door and turned the lights on.

"Nice house." Arthur complimented.

Alfred smiled. "Thanks." he said and got out and walked towards the beautiful house causally and hummed the show theme song as he walked towards it. Arthur and the others accompanied Alfred inside, curious to see the interior of the house.

Maddy and Feli ran upstairs to her room so he could help her pick some cute clothes. Feliciano looked around her room, painted a light girly purple. For some reason it didn't really suit her. He guessed her father had done the painting. "Do you have club clothes?" Feliciano asked, walking over to her closet.

Maddy nodded. "My short dresses are in the back." She said, walking towards the closet as well.

"Ooh! What about the red one?" Feliciano pulled out a short ruffled red dress, cut mid-thigh and accented with a white fabric rose just above the right breast.

"Oh, that's nice. I haven't worn that yet actually. I'll try it on to see how it looks." She said and stepped in the bathroom quick to put it on and soon stepped out again, showing Feliciano the red body hugging dress that accentuated her curves. "Does it look okay?" She asked nervously, not wanting to look too trampy.

"Pretty!" Feliciano smiled, and grabbed her hand to bring her to show the others.

Alfred went to the couch and laid his jacket on the arm. "Welcome to our home." He said and looked at the high ceilings. "It really is too big for just two people, but we used to throw parties all the time and the place would be packed. It was fun." He grinned, reminiscing about high school.

"Sounds like you had fun." Antonio smiled.

Alfred nodded. "Yeah, high school for the most part was awesome. What was school for you guys like?"

"Well, most of us went to different high schools so we don't have any group memories, but we all went to the same college." Gilbert said.

"Hectic." They said in unison without a second's hesitation.

"We were already planning Agent X by the time we were sophomores, and these three idiots started a band that actually grew pretty popular so they were never without a few fangirls tailing them." Arthur jerked a thumb at Francis, Gilbert, and Antonio.

"Bad Touch Trio!" Antonio grinned.

"We never broke up; we're just on hiatus until the show is over." Francis shrugged. "It's been a good few years since we wrote any songs."

"And none of us could keep out of trouble." Arthur shook his head.

"Shut up, eyebrow bastard! You're the one who almost got us all expelled!" Lovino snapped.

"Mr. Edam was an asshole! He was asking for it!" Arthur retorted.

Alfred laughed softly. "Wow, sounds like you did have fun. What did you guys major in?"

"All different things. I did writing, art, and music." Arthur said.

"Banking." Francis said with a slight frown.

"Agriculture and farming." Antonio grinned.

"Culinary." Lovino muttered.

"Same as Arthur, actually. Except graphic art for me." Gilbert smirked.

Alfred opened his mouth to reply but just then Feliciano dragged Maddy into the room and presented her to the others. "Tada! Alfred, aren't you going to change? Arthur- go help him pick an outfit!" He ordered.

Alfred blushed remembering all his posters and clippings and shook his head quickly. "No no no no, it's fine." He insisted and went towards the stairs alone.

Feliciano gave Arthur a sharp look, opening his eyes to deepen the effect, and Arthur hurried off to follow Alfred. Despite the innocent exterior, Feliciano was a terror when you annoyed him. He pushed the bedroom door open. "Alfred?" He said apologetically. "He made me..." And then he stopped in his tracks and he adopted a deadpan expression.

Alfred was shirtless as he turned around and his cheeks quickly went crimson. His walls were covered in posters, 80% of them Agent X posters, and the lot of them focused on Arthur. Alfred coughed nervously, at a loss for words because he was too surprised and embarrassed.

Maddy remembered the posters and covered her mouth to hold in laughter. 'Poor Alfie', she thought.

"It's like a shrine..." Arthur thought, and then realized a second too late that he had said it aloud. He flushed and looked down. "Sorry."

Alfred looked down, feeling really awkward. "It's not a shrine, it's just that I've been collecting posters since the show came out and I hate throwing memorabilia like that away since it might go on the market later on for lots of money." He said, lying about the second part. He would never sell them, he would hate to sell any of them. He looked up at Arthur. "Can you get out of my room p-please?" He asked softly and as politely as he could, stuttering a bit at the end.

Arthur decided not to mention the shelf full of miniature figurines, DVDs of each season, and the graphic novel series. He slipped quietly from the room and blinked. Then he went back to the others and chewed his lip awkwardly.

Gilbert gave a raucous laugh. "What's wrong, did he have a shrine to you or something?" He laughed.

"No, it was to you actually." He snapped rudely in response, but inside he felt bad. He hadn't even knocked. Poor Alfred.

Maddy noticed. "Um, please excuse me for a moment." She said and ran upstairs to her brother's room and stepped in. "Alfie?" She asked and saw him sitting on his bed, hiding his face in his pillow.

"I'm such a loser, really I am a complete loser, and because of my loser nerdiness I've embarrassed myself in front of my idol. Now he probably thinks I'm a freaky stalker that's obsessed with him."

Maddy sat next to her brother and hugged him. "No he doesn't." She whispered, trying to comfort him.

Alfred scoffed. "He called it a shrine, and you know who has shrines? Psychos!" He stated bitterly. He just wanted to hide away in a dark corner and never come out.

Maddy rubbed his back soothingly. "Just get dressed Alfie, I'll go cover for you." She said and went downstairs as her brother resumed getting dressed. Alfred sighed knowing it was no use for her to lie and wanted to stop her but knew she was going to try anyway. He put some black jeans on and a tight white V then a jacket and he brushed his hair quickly.

Entering the living room, Maddy went straight for Arthur. "Listen, my brother was covering for me and it was really hard for him to do. I was the one that had most of the posters but I didn't have room on my walls so I asked him if I could put them up in his room and he was okay with it. It's really embarrassing." She blushed purposely and bit her lip. "But let's forget you saw my posters okay? And don't tell Al you know he lied for me or he will get upset with me." She told him quietly.

Arthur recognized the lie (Maddy had told them she didn't even like the show, after all), but chose not to say anything. Instead he nodded and silently marveled at her loyalty to her brother. Then Alfred came downstairs and Arthur stood up, only all too ready to leave the house of awkwardness.

Madeline went to her brother and walked with him after she grabbed the keys. "Okay let's go, Alfred and I will drive in my car and you guys follow so we can show you where the club is." She told them all. Alfred was still red and he was looking down. All he needed was some booze to ease his nerves.

"Sure!" Antonio said with an easy smile. "I'll drive!"

"Shotgun!" Gilbert called. Lovino turned and left immediately, just wanting to get out. He only came because Antonio used those damn puppy dog eyes on him.

After locking up the house, Madeline and Alfred got into her Dodge. Once everyone was situated, they pulled out of the driveway to lead the way to the club.

Gilbert was jittery the whole ride to the club. He had an idea on what to sing, and since Madeline had said she didn't want to sing he was determined to make her sing it with him. He had a feeling that she would like it. Arthur browsed his Tumblr blog (kingarthurX), and saw that his ask box was overflowing with fan mail asking who the blond guy was he had spoken to that morning at the airport and if he was his boyfriend. Arthur smirked. He would have to tell Alfred how popular he had become.

Maddy hummed to the radio as they cruised down the road towards the club. Alfred was trying to clear his mind and not have an anxiety attack over how embarrassed he was. He tried distracting himself by checking his Gmail, which was full of emails from the fan club, each one asking about how he was with Arthur this morning.

The cars parked next to each other in the parking lot and Feliciano opened up the back doors, hopping out and pulling Ludwig along by the hand, smiling sweetly. "Let's go Luddy, I want a Bloody Mary!" He said cheerily. Feliciano dragged Ludwig inside, not waiting for the others.

Antonio hopped out of the van, followed by Arthur, who was pushed by Gilbert and fell on his face. Gilbert jumped down gracefully and landed on Arthur's back just as the blond started to get up.

"Dammit Gilbert!" Arthur spluttered.

Alfred glanced over in concern, bending down to help Arthur up. "Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

"That wasn't nice." Maddy scolded Gilbert.

"Ah, he's fine. He did it to me once. That was revenge." Gilbert said uncaringly.

Arthur stood up and dusted himself off. "We all do it to each other. I'm fine; he just caught me off guard." He looked down at himself, judging the condition of his dark red t-shirt emblazoned with the show logo, skinny jeans, and heavy black combat boots. "Eh, no scuffs. Yeah, I'm fine."

Alfred nodded. "Okay cool, let's go party!" He smiled and went and spoke with the bouncer, getting them in easily. Maddy followed her brother, passing all the people waiting behind the velvet rope. The pulsing beat of the club awaited them.

* * *

 **The club scene will be divided into a few different chapters just so we don't end up with a huge long monster chapter. I'm going to say three or four chapters of the club.**


	10. In Which Karaoke May Lead to Some Issues

**Hey~ Yup, I'm lazy~ Too lazy to edit. 2cute4lyfe and I took a break from roleplaying, but we're back in the game and we have good news for you all!**

 **First, the two of us have created a joint account on Spotify called epically2cute4frenchfry and on it we have created playlists for each character of significance. They include songs sang during the club chapters and songs we thought fit them. Check it out!**

 **Second, we have begun a prequel. It follows the cast of Agent X during their college years, briefly talked about in earlier chapters. For this, 2cute4lyfe has taken over the roles of Francis, Antonio, and the Italian bros as well as a rather special character. A poll will be placed on my account regarding when we'll begin posting this prequel. As much as we'd rather not wait to start uploading until Agent X is finished (since that will be a long time from now), that will be an option. The other option will be uploading it after the next few chapters of Agent X are published and the two will be written at the same time. It's completely up to you guys, so go ahead and make your vote~!**

 **Sorry for the long author's note. 2cute4lyfe and I do not own Hetalia. Enjoy!**

* * *

They filed in, looking around. The bar was a large part of the main room, and the other half was a mass of tables, a large dancefloor, and a small stage with karaoke equipment. The walls were painted dark and the floor was dark hardwood. The dancefloor was smooth white tile and pulsing lights lit up the room in an odd glow. Arthur's bright green eyes looked almost neon and Gilbert's eyes looked unearthly.

Feliciano was already at the bar, spinning side to side on his stool and sipping a red drink as Ludwig, sipping his beer, berated him about talking to strangers.

Madeline went up to the VIP lounge and got some wine at the private bar. Arthur stepped into the lounge after her and looked around. There was a smaller bar than the main one, but the lounge area was decorated with dark red furniture and mahogany side tables and a coffee table. The lounge had an excellent view of the goings-on of the main room and of the stage. "Nice." He complimented.

Gilbert nodded in agreement. Francis wasted no time in plopping his ass in a cushy loveseat and patting the cushion next to him. "Come sit, Arthur." He said invitingly.

"No thanks." Arthur said disinterestedly and looked towards the bar, examining the display of alcohol on the shelving.

Alfred was ordering a beer and he looked around as he waited. "Hm, not too busy tonight." He remarked and went over to the balcony that overlooked the dance floor. Maddy sipped her wine and hummed to the upbeat dance music and swayed a little, wanting to dance a bit.

"Let's go dance!" Francis said, sitting up and approaching Arthur. The blond shrugged and accompanied him to the dance floor. Antonio dragged Lovino out to the floor and the two started to dance as well, the latter a bit reluctantly. Alfred stayed for a moment, examining the dancers with intense concentration. He thought he just saw... but no, it couldn't be… He ignored his thoughts and took another swig of beer.

"You wanna dance?" Gilbert tapped on Maddy's shoulder, cocking an eyebrow.

Madeline nodded, setting her wine down with a smile. "Yes please." She replied and followed him to the dance floor.

"Heh, you shouldn't be drinking. You're only 19." Gilbert teased.

Maddy smirked. "Oh yeah? And who's going to stop me?" She asked playfully as she sipped her wine again and put it down so she could dance.

At that moment, a man came on stage and announced the start of Karaoke Night. Anyone who wanted to sing could go up to the stage, enter a song into the computer, and sing. Arthur looked over at the machine contemplatively.

Alfred offered to sing and the DJ, who was a close friend of his, called him onto the stage and he picked out a softer song. Francis grinned, taking the opportunity to dance a little closer with Arthur.

Alfred's voice was smooth and tender, flowing effortlessly over the crowd. He soon got to the chorus; his eyes closed and he sang with heartfelt emotion.

" _I'll be your crying shoulder,_

 _I'll be love's suicide_

 _I'll be better when I'm older,_

 _I'll be the greatest fan of your life_."

Francis pulled Arthur into a slow dance, but the Brit could only watch Alfred curiously as he sang. He sang as though he was living the lyrics, and Arthur recalled Madeline's earlier words. He liked someone... Arthur wondered vaguely who it was.

Alfred continued to sing, making the song almost come alive. It soon ended and the people cheered for him. He bowed a little playfully then handed the mic back to the DJ, who asked for another volunteer.

Arthur volunteered, and after climbing onto the stage, he picked a song with a slight smile and started to sing, eyes closed and pulling the lyrics from memory.

" _I try to face the fight within_

 _But it's over_

 _I'm ready for the riot to begin_

 _And surrender_

 _I walked the path that led me to the end_

 _Remember_

 _I'm caught beneath with nothing left to give_

 _Forever_

 _When angels fall with broken wings_

 _I can't give up, I can't give in_

 _When all is lost and daylight ends_

 _I'll carry you and we will live forever, forever._ "

Alfred smiled and sipped his beer, enjoying the sound of Arthur's powerful voice. He hummed softly to the song because it was one of his favorites then when Arthur finished, he applauded with the rest of the crowd, fans screaming. Arthur looked up and grinned, catching Alfred's eye and motioning for him to join him.

Alfred raised an eyebrow and walked forward and looked up. "Did you want me to get Francis or something?" He asked, confused.

"No, I want to do a duet." Arthur said playfully. "C'mon, I have the perfect song in mind."

Alfred blushed and got up on stage and grabbed the other mic and bit his lip curiously. "So what song did you have in mind?" He asked.

"Lion?" Arthur suggested. "Hollywood Undead?"

Alfred grinned and nodded. "Okay cool, I love them."

"Alright!" Arthur selected the song and started off with the singing parts.

" _I am a lion and I want to be free_

 _Do you see a lion when you look inside of me?_

 _Outside the window just to watch you as you sleep_

 _Cause I am a lion born from things you cannot be_

 _How can I sleep at night, there's a war inside my head?_

 _I found a lion hidden right beneath my bed_

 _I will not hide myself from the tears that you have shed_

 _Cause I am a lion and you are dead._ "

Alfred got ready to rap the part of Johnny Three Tears.

" _Here's a story of everything we'll ever be_

 _You can hide but some of us can never leave_

 _And if you go I don't need those little things_

 _They remind me of all our little dreams_

 _Can you hear the words, all I can say?_

 _We can watch the world even if they walk away_

 _Forget about tomorrow, tomorrow is today_

 _You were born a lion and a lion you will stay!_ "

And Arthur took over with singing the chorus,

" _I am a lion and I want to be free_

 _Do you see a lion when you look inside of me?_

 _Outside the window just to watch you as you sleep_

 _Cause I am a lion born from things you cannot be._ "

Alfred listened raptly to Arthur's lovely voice then continued with the rapping,

" _Remember an army, of all those little kids_

 _Living life like they only get a little bit_

 _It's hard to fight when you're born in the middle and_

 _I'd rather die, won't watch you giving in_

 _I'm sorry daughter but your father's not the same_

 _I can look into your eyes and I'll swear that I will change_

 _But tomorrow is tomorrow so forgive me if I stay_

 _You can hide beneath the covers while I hide behind the pain_

 _After all, only so much we can say_

 _Words can lose their meaning, once you walk away_

 _Promise that you'll love me, watch me as I fade_

 _I'll give you all those things that these liars never gave_

 _The hands on the clock, and the things we cannot change_

 _Tear it all to pieces, and take back what I made_

 _If there's one thing I'd keep, it's you that I would save_

 _Cause I am just a lion and a lion I will stay._ "

Arthur sang the chorus again and the song went back to Alfred.

" _Hey!_

 _I never meant to let go_

 _All I want and you're all I ever wanna know_

 _Can't hide in the attic of a pretty home, of a pretty home, of a pretty home_

 _Hey!_

 _I never meant to let go_

 _All I want and you're all I ever wanna know_

 _Can't hide in the attic of a pretty home, of a pretty home, of a pretty home_

 _Hey!_ "

" _I am a lion and I want to be free_

 _Do you see a lion when you look inside of me?_

 _Outside the window just to watch you as you sleep_

 _Cause I am a lion born from things you cannot be_." Arthur finished up the song and the final notes played as the club burst into applause, both fans of Arthur and casual club-goers who enjoyed their show.

Gilbert jumped on stage and tossed an arm around Arthur's shoulders. "It's our turn now, right Brows?"

"Yes, Gil. Choose a song." Arthur sighed. Gilbert grinned and did as he was told.

While the people applauded, Alfred jumped off stage and went back to the VIP area with Maddy and he watched Arthur and Gil on stage as he sipped his beer.

The intro music played, the song opening with the chorus. Gilbert and Arthur sang together,

" _I look to the sky but there's nobody watching,_

 _Left here behind I'm alone and forgotten,_

 _So now, the world belongs to me,_

 _The world belongs to me._ "

Gilbert continued solo,

" _So many roads that I've taken_

 _When nobody thought I could make it_

 _And even though I had to go it alone_

 _I still survived._ "

Arthur took over with a soulful tone, singing from the heart.

" _When you live in darkness, there's always confusion,_

 _Sometimes your mind will provide the illusion_

 _And your whole life can change in the blink of an eye, yeah._ "

Their voices mingled again for the chorus, and then Gilbert fell back as Arthur started off the next verse.

" _I opened a box full of secrets,_

 _Where the strongest of locks couldn't keep them_

 _And even though I was the last to know,_

 _They were living inside._ "

" _When you see through the darkness and find the solution,_

 _How quickly your eyes will remove the illusion_

 _And your life is gonna change in the blink of an eye, yeah._ " sang Gilbert.

The two of them finished off the song together, singing through another chorus, the bridge, and final chorus. When the last notes played, they both bowed with an exaggerated flourish and Arthur hopped off the stage and slipped away to the VIP lounge and sat at the bar, allowing Gilbert to take center stage.

* * *

 **The songs from this chapter, in order, are:**

 **I'll Be (Edwin McCain)**

 **Angels Fall (Breaking Benjamin)**

 **Lion (Hollywood Undead)**

 **The World Belongs to Me (My Darkest Days)**

 **We do not own any of them! :)**


	11. In Which An Old Friend Returns

**Don't forget to vote on the poll regarding the prequel posted on my profile! And check out our Spotify, epically2cute4frenchfry!**

 **2cute4lyfe and I do not own Hetalia.**

* * *

"Kesese, looks like it's just me then! Wait- Maddy! Get up here!" Gilbert said suddenly, looking imploringly at her.

Madeline blushed and looked at him in apprehension but knew he wasn't going to surrender, so she walked towards the stage and up to join him.

"I heard you singing it to yourself this afternoon, so I know you know the words." Gilbert told her as he selected the song and showed her.

Maddy bit her lip and nodded looking down. She was extremely shy and closed her eyes to block the watching crowd from view as the music began with a soft beat.

Gilbert started off in a gentle tone that oddly enough suited his rough voice.

" _You stand with a gun in your hand_

 _Staring at the wall with a look so sad and_

 _Thinking about who really cares_

 _And will they even notice if I just disappeared now..._ "

Madeline listened and knew it was her turn to sing when he stopped.

" _One bang, blood rushed to the head_

 _She'd rather fly through the sky than walk with the dead_

 _So, she stays high while the world goes by_

 _And just another day here waiting to die…_ " She sang, her soft voice flowing through the room.

Gilbert's eyes slipped closed; he knew the song by heart, there was no need for the lyrics flashing across the screen in front of him.

" _Life is beautiful_

 _You share a little love with the whole wide world_

 _Every boy and girl sing along when we sing why-o, why-o..._ "

Madeline also knew the song almost too well; she was looking down at first when she sang. All throughout high school and the beginning of college, she always believed that POD was singing about her, or her life.

" _And she cries but her man denies_

 _It's funny how love comes with so many lies_

 _And he said he'd never do it again_

 _So she puts on a smile and she starts to pretend_."

" _She hides all the pain inside by filling up her arms_

 _With pretty little lines_

 _She cuts with no intent to kill_

 _This time she didn't do it but someday she will..._ " Gilbert sang.

They both continued singing the song and when it finished, Madeline had tears in her eyes. She looked over at the snowy haired man who she shared the stage with and saw the raw emotion in his facial expression. On the outside he was grinning at the crowd's positive feedback, but she could see the gears in his mind turning and grinding, remembering something. If you look closely, he seemed to be caught in a memory.

Gilbert smiled at the cheering crowd, but he wasn't really seeing them. All he could see was her, eyes bright and furious, mouth shouting, hand raised to strike him. He flinched surreptitiously and then took a deep breath, calming himself and forcing a wider smirk as he mock-bowed.

Francis jumped up on the stage and patted his shoulder, shooting him a brief worried glance. Gilbert responded silently with his eyes, yes he was fine, and Francis relaxed. Antonio followed and Maddie exited the stage. She went back to the V.I.P area and sipped wine, looking over at Arthur. She was going to ask what connection the song was to Gil, but knew it wasn't her business so she turned her head away and sipped the smooth red wine.

"Well I think it's our turn now right?" Francis asked.

"I'd say so." Gilbert agreed. The three of them bent over the song selection and chose one, grinning.

Arthur sipped an ale and cheered as the trio sang Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen. He laughed as he drained the bottle and he looked over at Maddy with an inviting look. "Wanna dance?"

"Why not?" She replied and stood, following him to the dance floor. "So, you seem to really enjoy classic rock, I didn't expect that."

"Yeah, it's my passion! That and punk, of course. Sid Vicious is my god on Earth." He said lovingly, overlooking the fact that his god was dead, not noticing the jealous looks Alfred was throwing Madeline's way.

Madeline on the other hand noticed very clearly, but just smiled and blocked it out. "Yeah, Sid Vicious was pretty kickass. I love rock, but I'm also really into indie, it helps me calm down."

"Indie? How about Florence and the Machine?" Arthur asked as they danced in sync with the music.

Madeline squealed. "I love them! Her voice is so smooth and perfect." She enthused.

"Yeah, she's good." Arthur agreed. "I like her song Howl."

"That one is nice. Recently I've been listening to 'Addicted to Love' on repeat; it's one of my favorites."

"I haven't heard that one." Arthur said with a quick shake of the head. As the song finished and the trio launched into Porn Star Dancing, a song by My Darkest Days, Arthur rolled his eyes but switched into a more appropriate dance for the song, raunchy and flirtatious. A girl tapped on his shoulder, blushing furiously, and he obliged, dirty dancing with the fans.

Maddy giggled and took a step back out of the crowd as she listened to Gil sing the opening, his raspy voice fitting perfectly. She looked up and watched him but then something caught her eye. Near the bar there was a tall man with dark blue skinny jeans, a black tee shirt, he was looking straight at her. His hair was hidden by a beanie but froze as soon as she looked into his eyes, those piercing green eyes that watched the color leave her face. She knew them, she knew _him_. Madeline was conflicted at the moment, she didn't know if she wanted to go confront him or run away.

Arthur called over to her at that moment. He was still surrounded by fans, but was occupied downing another ale. "Maddy, don't you want to dance still? Gil is looking at you; I think he wants you to!" He laughed raucously, clearly a little tipsy.

Madeline's mind blocked out the noise around her. Her body was frozen. She felt a hand on her shoulder causing her to jump and quickly looked over to see it was just Alfred so she quickly relaxed, but only after her mind registered it was just Alfred. She looked back over to the bar and he was gone. Maddy didn't know if she was hallucinating or if he really was back. She scanned the room, looking for him.

Arthur abandoned his group of fans to approach and regarded her with his eyebrows knit together in worry. "Are you okay? You look like your puppy was just slaughtered in front of you."

Madeline snapped out of it and looked at Arthur. "That was dark." She said, hoping it would change the topic as she continued to scan the mass of people while still listening to Arthur.

"I'm serious, what's up?" Arthur pressed, Alfred agreeing.

She looked back at them and smiled. "It's fine, really, I just..." Her smile faded. "I just thought I saw someone I once knew." Alfred looked around, wondering who. Madeline's high school friends usually threw parties instead of going to clubs, so he couldn't see why they would be here. Arthur looked worried, and when the song ended a few moments later Gilbert jumped off the stage and dashed over.

"Everything alright? You okay Birdie?" He asked.

Madeline nodded and smiled at Gilbert, not wanting him to worry. "Yeah I'm fine. I'm going to go get some water." She said and walked towards the stairs, stopping when she heard her old nickname.

"Hey, how's my little bunny been?" A low voice asked. Madeline stopped and looked over at the familiar man with the green eyes. He took his beanie off and revealed his spiked up blonde hair.

Maddy swallowed and turned to face him. "Hi... Lars." She said quietly.

* * *

 **Dun dun dun~ Cliffhanger!**

 **Haha nah, next chapter will be up shortly so you don't have to wait long~**

 **The song was Beautiful by POD. We do not own it.**


	12. In Which Gilbert Is Flirted With

**I really don't know why I hate editing so much. For these shorter chapters it only takes like 15 minutes.**

 **Don't forget to vote on the poll, and check out our Spotify epically2cute4frenchfry!**

 **2cute4lyfe and I do not own Hetalia!**

* * *

Gilbert, unbeknownst to Maddy, had followed her to make sure she was okay. When he saw this clearly shady asshole, he frowned and studied Maddy's face, taking in the frightened expression before his face hardened and he turned to go get Alfred.

Alfred watched Gil come towards him with a pissed and concerned expression. "What's up?" He asked in confusion.

"Alfred, a sketchy-looking guy just cornered your sister." Gilbert informed him. "She doesn't look too happy to see him. ...Actually, the way she described him earlier... I think it might be that Lars asshole."

Alfred raised an eyebrow and looked in the direction Maddy had gone and saw Lars speaking with her. "It is him." He said with a vicious glare in the man's direction.

Lars smirked. "What's wrong my little bunny, you don't seem happy to see me."

"No, I'm not actually." She replied icily. He reached out to touch her hair but she moved away "Lars, stop."

"But Maddy, I came back for you so we can be together again."

Maddy shook her head. "I don't want to be with you, you're corrupted and sick. I don't want to be a part of that."

"But we used to have so much fun, my little bunny."

Maddy trembled and her eyes watered at the thought. "Stop Lars, I'm out! I'm done with this."

"Hey, Lars! I suggest you back up." Alfred shouted angrily, interrupting.

Lars looked over and saw Alfred and another man approaching. "Ahh, Alfie my man, haven't seen ya in a while. I got a good load from Jamaica, wanna buy?" He asked.

Alfred shook his head. "No, I don't want to buy pot, I'm here to tell you to stay away from Maddy!" He growled. His voice was cold but it dripped with threat.

"You didn't have a problem with us being together before." Lars chuckled.

"That was before, asshole!" Gilbert snarled despite his own thoughts that he really shouldn't get involved.

Lars looked over. "Oh? And who are you? Her new boyfriend? Hm, not what I expected."

Madeline sighed. "It would be best if we don't speak anymore, I think you should go back to Jamaica."

"What do you mean? What did you expect?" Gilbert asked despite his anger. He was now curious and unsure whether he should be offended.

"You're cuter than I thought. You obviously have a nice body, it's easy to tell with the muscle shirt your wearing. You have a nice jawline and some pretty stunning eyes." He spoke with a small gleam in his green eyes.

Gilbert blinked and then smiled. "Oh, why thank you. You know, it was quite awesome of you to say that, I'm actually rather surprised it took you so long to notice... You're not quite so bad-looking yourself." He said, puffing out his chest, ego having swollen to 200 times its previous size.

Larzs smirked in response. "Sorry, I must have been dazed by your sexy accent."

Maddy groaned. "Gil, no! Stop. Snap out of it."

Gilbert ignored Maddy, continuing with Lars. "Yeah... Unfortunately, I was not dazed by you. I know exactly what you are and I'm disgusted that you would dare show your filthy stinking slimy unawesome face here and try to win her back! You don't deserve her! She deserves the world and you can't give it to her because you're too damn selfish to look beyond your own self-benefit and realize that other people exist too! Other people have feelings and no one, _no one_ deserves you trampling them and tearing them down so you can push yourself up!" He would have continued, practically hysterical with rage with tears beading in his eyes, but Arthur appeared, lured by Gilbert's screaming, and seized his arm, dragging him away. Madeline blushed and smiled softly because he stood up for her.

Alfred than grabbed Lars's shirt and pulled him close. "If I ever see you talk to Maddy or even look at her I will personally make sure you never _see_ her again." He spoke lowly, but loud enough to hear over the music.

Lars shrugged and pushed Alfred off of him. "Cute." He rolled his eyes and then turned to Madeline. "Don't worry, you'll be mine again. I'll take you away from here." He winked then disappeared in the masses of dancing people.

Maddy shivered at his parting words. "I'm going to go in the VIP area." She told Alfred and continued up the stairs and ordered a round of vodka shots. She had a feeling she'd need them.

Arthur had Gilbert alone in the corner and appeared to be soothing him. The German was clutching a chilled beer in his hands but was clearly not at all interested in it, just mindlessly swirling it in the bottle and nodding occasionally to whatever Arthur was saying. He looked, oddly enough, as though he had been crying until just a moment ago.

Madeline tried numbing her pain with vodka but it wasn't working. She remembered when she first told Gilbert and Francis about Lars and how Gil ran out to comfort her and how he had just the right thing to say. She looked over at Gilbert and Arthur, together on the sofa in the corner. He looked upset as well, but she had an idea. She approached him. "Gil?" She asked softly.

He jumped and looked up, startled. "Maddy!" He tried discreetly to wipe his eyes on his sleeve as he mumbled. "I'm not crying, really, this beer is just really strong..."

Madeline smiled gently as he tried to cover it up. "I was wondering if you wanted to go get some fresh air with me in the parking lot, maybe take a little walk?" She offered hopefully.

"Um... Sure." He said unsurely with a hesitant glance at Arthur and stood. Arthur watched anxiously, wanting to come with him but knowing it was for the best if they talked on their own.

Madeline nodded and led him outside, walking down away from the people and leaned against the building. "Thank you." She said softly and looked down at the gravel.

"No problem." He said with a forced casualness. "He deserved it. I hate people like that. ...Is that all?"

Madeline noticed his hurry. "I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable with being out here with me, and I don't know what happened in your past but you don't have to tell me. I just want you to know that you can always talk to me if you want, even though I'm pretty much a stranger to you." She sighed and continued to look down at her feet. She didn't want to push him but she felt as if she was drawn to him, like they shared something horrible, something that no one else they knew could understand.

Gilbert didn't answer. He looked away, that same emotion from the song flickering in his eyes. His fingers curled into a loose fist at his side. Madeline recognized the glassy look and reached down to hold his hand, interlacing their fingers. She gave a gentle squeeze. She didn't say anything, knowing he might not respond in fear of his voice cracking.

Gilbert's mask cracked and when he did speak it was in a hollow voice devoid of its usual flamboyant emotion. "I know how you feel. It's happened to me. Maybe not to the extreme as your current situation, I'm probably complaining about nothing, but..." He couldn't finish the sentence. He tugged his hand out from hers and slipped away back into the club.

Madeline felt her heart tighten with sadness. "Gil!" She said, trying to stop him, but he went inside and she looked up at the night sky. "I'm sorry you had to suffer Gil..." She sighed deeply as the wind started up. She shivered a little and turned to walk back inside.


	13. In Which Theyre All Wasted Beyond Belief

**Okay, so there'll be another chapter or two before I call it quits for tonight. They're short though, sorry.**

 **I had something important to say but I forgot :|**

 **Vote on the poll! Check out our Spotify, epically2cute4frenchfry!**

 **2cute4lyfe and I do not own Hetalia. Enjoy!**

* * *

Gilbert was on the stage when she reentered with Francis and Antonio and they were singing some Five Finger Death Punch song, basically just shouting into the microphone. Alfred danced with Arthur, listening as the trio sang one of his favorite songs. Maddy went back up to the VIP section and ordered more alcoholic drinks, hoping not to remember the night. She felt rejected by Gil and even though all she wanted to do was help, she didn't blame him.

Arthur was laughing at a joke Arthur made but had an odd feeling. "Oh and Arthur, where did Maddy and Gil go before?"

"She dragged him outside to talk. It didn't last very long and she looked upset when she came in. I doubt she got what she was looking for. I didn't think she would." Arthur said. The song, Wash It All Away, finished and the group ditched the stage again in favor of drinking at the bar. Gilbert was wearing his metaphorical mask again, pretending all was well and laughing at something Antonio said.

Alfred nodded. "Oh? Um, be right back, I'm just going to go check on her." He smiled and dashed off, having seen her hunched over at the bar staring into another empty shot glass.

On the other end of the bar the Bad Touch Trio were playing a drinking game, and Gilbert seemed to be losing. He was downing shot after shot of beer and gradually getting drunker and drunker as the alcohol hit him hard and fast. He slammed the glass down on the bar and cried out in a heavy slur, "Bartender! Another round!" The man nodded and stepped away from Maddy and went and got the boys more.

Alfred sat next to his sister. "You okay Maddy?"

"Oh I'm great, just trying to drink myself into a coma. But I know that won't work, so I'll settle with forgetting everything that happened tonight." She whispered and took another shot. "Why won't this work faster?" She sighed.

Alfred looked at his sister sadly. "Why don't you have some water?"

Madeline scoffed. "No thank you, that would be defeating the purpose. I'm a big girl Alfred, now go back and have fun with Arthur, you deserve it."

"You deserve to have fun too, Maddy." Alfred reminded her.

Across the bar, Gilbert downed the shots and coughed. He spun on his bar stool, almost falling off, and screamed drunkenly across the club, "ARTHURRR!" He slurred. "CAN WE GO SING FOR CHILDREN IN THE HOSPITALLL?"

"What the fuck- NO!" Arthur shouted back.

Alfred chuckled. "Wow, he is _hammered_."

Maddy giggled a little at him than looked down. "More vodka please." She asked the bartender and he obliged.

Gilbert tried to spin back to face the bar after making a face at Arthur and slipped off, landing on his back. He remained unfazed and got up with a brisk laugh. Ignoring Francis and Antonio's questioning looks, he made his way to the stage and started to play a song. The beat started, a beat familiar to two other people in the room and a beat that alarmed them both.

" _Too big_

 _Too small_

 _Size does matter after all_

 _Zu groß, zu Klein?_

 _Er könnte etwas größer sein_

 _Mercedes-Benz und Autobahn_

 _Alleine in das Ausland fahren Reise, Reise!_

 _Fahrvergnügen Ich will nur_

 _Spaß, mich nicht verlieben_

 _Just a little bit... Just a little, bitch!_

 _You've got a pu_ -" He was cut off here with a startled yelp in German by a blonde blur tackling him off the stage.

Ludwig didn't notice when the song first came on, but once he heard the beginning of the chorus he went and intercepted his brother at a sprint. "What were you thinking! That song isn't exactly smiled upon!" He scolded his drunken brother. Madeline also heard the song but was too buzzed to care too much so she just laughed and went down the stairs to find Alfred and bumped into someone. She looked up to apologize and there he was again.

He smirked and leaned down. "Don't worry bunny, we will be together again soon." He smiled and kissed her cheek than left. Madeline than drunkenly stumbled outside to get away and saw that Gil was being escorted out and the others followed him so she went over to them.

"Then why was it an option?" Gilbert was wailing in response to Ludwig, not understanding that basically any song imaginable was an option. "You're no fun, Luddy!" He complained as his brother ushered him out, followed by his two friends and soon after Arthur, Alfred, and Maddy.

"That was really stupid of you, Gilbert." Antonio said, Francis nodding in agreement. Arthur was laughing hysterically, but he was leaning on Alfred for support in his own drunken state. Alfred chuckled and made sure Arthur wouldn't fall.

Maddy looked at the group. "So um, who are the two designated drivers?" She asked leaning against her car hoping the world would stop spinning.

Ludwig sighed. "I didn't drink, so I'll drive the van." Maddy nodded and looked around hoping to find the second sober person. Antonio and Francis weren't exactly drunk, but they both had consumed a decent amount of drinks and therefore weren't safe driving. The twins had both spent the whole night alternating between drinking and dancing, so they weren't an option.

Arthur tossed Maddy his phone. "Lukas can come help. Call him, he's on speed dial." Madeline nodded and turned on his cell, called Lukas, and waited, feeling bad that she had to inconvenience someone.

Lukas answered on the first ring. "Hello?" He wasn't even the slightest bit groggy even though it was about 1 o'clock in the morning.

Maddy was glad he didn't sound tired. "Hi, it's Madeline from earlier. We need another driver cause we have two vehicles and only one sober person, sorry to bother you." She said apologetically and held her head as it begin pulsating as a headache arrived.

"It's fine. I'll wake up Matthias and have him drive me down so I don't need to call a taxi." Lukas said, setting down his coffee mug with a distinct sound, informing Maddy of why he was awake. The muffled sound of the television also paused, and there was the sound of him padding down the hallway and knocking on a door. "Matt? Get up, I need you."

"R-really? I'll be right there?" Matthias had woken up right away and after a moment of scrambling around he burst out of his and Lukas's shared bedroom and grinned.

"I need you to drive me to the club. Apparently Ludwig was the only one sensible enough to realize a designated driver was needed so they need another one."

"Oh... Okay! Can I drive them?"

"No." Lukas denied. To Maddy, he said "Alright. We'll be right there. Can you give me directions?"

Madeline smiled in relief. "Yeah, luckily from your place it isn't a far drive. Tell me when to give the directions."

"Alright. Luckily Gilbert talked Arthur into keeping one of those Volkswagens." Lukas said monotonously. "Too bad it's the pink one." At this, Matthias laughed and Maddy could hear the sound of the door opening and closing, and a minute later the sound of a car starting. "Okay. We're leaving the house."

"Okay. Well first, he should take a left out of the driveway and keep driving that way until you guys get to Spring Ave."

"...okay." Lukas said after a minute of silence.

"Then go right and drive straight for a few blocks until you get to Maple Ave, then take a left and there is the club."

"Okay. We'll be there soon." Lukas hung up, repeating the directions to Matthias.

"There was a club five minutes from our house and we weren't told about it?" Matthias whined.

"We just got here. Of course we wouldn't know." Lukas rolled his eyes.

Maddy handed Arthur his phone back. "Here ya go, they are on their way." She smiled despite the pounding in her skull.

"I hope he's had his coffee." Francis sighed. "He's a nightmare without it. I'd almost rather walk back."

The pastel pink Volkswagen pulled into the driveway and Lukas climbed out of the passenger side. Matthias waved energetically but didn't leave the car. Lukas accompanied Madeline to her car after a brief hello and got in the driver's seat, starting the car as Ludwig did the same after everyone in the van got settled.

Maddy shivered a bit as she buckled up. "Thank you." She said graciously.

"No problem." Lukas said and gave one of his rare compliments, sensing that she felt a little awkward. "You look nice, by the way."

"Thank you. So, not to be nosey, but why drink coffee at 1am? Aren't you tired?" She asked curiously.

"I drink coffee so I won't be tired. And I'm not adjusted to the time zone difference yet. Back in Europe it would be past 6. I always wake up at 6." Lukas explained.

Madeline nodded in understanding and realized that she should have guessed that. "I wake up pretty early too, but I usually have to for work or something."

"Matthias liked to go out for breakfast in this little diner near where our apartment was. Even when we would stay in hotels when filming we would go out for breakfast early at some place we found." Lukas explained further. "Do you know any places around here open early? He'd be ecstatic." He smiled softly, showing just how fond he was of his overenthusiastic and energetic boyfriend.

"An adorable cafe down the road from your house, it's near the library." She told him. "It's in walking distance, just take a right and then you will see a huge library down the road, and across the street is the café."

"You'll have to tell Arthur about the library, or actually better yet don't. He'll spend the whole year there. Especially if they have the Harry Potter books, he forgot them back in England and he hasn't quit complaining about it." Lukas chuckled.

Maddy smiled. "Maybe I'll have Alfred pick him up the books as a surprise." She said, thinking it through as they pulled into the driveway.

"He can suck it up. He has plenty of other books to read, and once we get started on the new season he won't have a whole lot of time to read anyways." Lukas said, unbuckling and helping her out of the car so she wouldn't stumble.

"Okie dokie, thanks again Lukas." She shrugged as they walked towards the house and people starting coming out of the van.

Francis was carrying Arthur, who'd dozed off during the short drive. Gilbert was leaning heavily on his brother for support and laughing hysterically over something only moderately funny that Alfred had said. Poor Ludwig had been saddled with Felicano as well as his brother and Antonio was left to carry Lovino, who had become a lot more affectionate in his drunken state.

Lukas rolled his eyes. "This always happens."

"Well next time I won't drink so maybe I can help. Poor Ludwig." Maddy pouted. The door was unlocked thanks to Matthias forgetting to lock it, so they all went inside. Ludwig carried Gilbert down the hall into his bedroom and dropped Gilbert in his bed, afterwards bringing Feliciano upstairs so he could tuck him into bed.

"It's fine, have fun." Francis smiled at her as he carried Arthur to his bedroom. "Ludwig just likes to be the only responsible one."

Arthur blinked awake, eyes hazy. He yawned and looked up, seeing it was Francis and resting his head on Francis's shoulder with a tired sigh, eyes closing and quickly falling back asleep. Francis's heart melted. Alfred was forced to hold in a squeal at the cute scene before him. Then he realized who was carrying him and his heart sank.

Francis brought Arthur into his bedroom and lay him down on his bed, brushing his messy hair back from his face with a fond smile. He brushed his lips across his forehead, murmuring softly, "Sleep well, mon petit lapin." He left Arthur's room quietly and found that almost everyone had dispersed to their own bedrooms. "Alfred, Madeline, there's a guest bedroom here and there's another upstairs next to Peter and Monique's rooms." Francis pointed to a door next to Arthur's indicating the first offer.

"I'll go near Monique and Peter's rooms." Maddy decided.

"Okay, well I'll be in this one. Goodnight, and thanks." Alfred smiled and walked into the guest room next to Arthur's.

Francis bid then both goodnight and retreated to his bedroom, leaving the door slightly ajar for he knew what was soon to come. It happened every time Arthur got drunk. And sure enough, his long-time friend joined him ten minutes later, wearing only a T-shirt and boxers and eyes already full of drunken lust. Francis didn't complain. Their lips met with a warm familiarity.

Alfred heard the not-so-graceful steps of a groggy Arthur down the hall. He listened closely with curiosity and heard a door shut. He listened to the noises that followed and aggressively pulled the blankets over his head and hummed, trying to drown it out.

Maddy put her hair up with her spare hair tie, took her dress off, and lay in bed with her head swimming with old memories. She closed her eyes and her vision faded black as she entered her dreams.

Gilbert didn't move from where Ludwig dumped him on his bed, having fallen asleep straight away. He nuzzled into his pillow, breathing softly, but his sleep was far from peaceful.

* * *

 **I like Lukas. I feel bad for not giving him more screen time, but he's really not that big of a character :/ Poor Norgie**

 **The song Gilbert attempted to sing was Pussy by Rammstein, and if you know it then you'll see why Ludwig cut him off there. Good thing he did, too. It's rather inappropriate :|**

 **So the club chapters are officially over, and shit storms officially begin! Yay! All of the songs from the club are in the character playlists on our Spotify if you're interested.**


	14. In Which The Sugar Plums Dance: Part 1

**253 words. :| Well, I did say it would be short. *rubs back of neck awkwardly***

 **2cute4lyfe and I do not own Hetalia, however we do own a Spotify account by the name of epically2cute4frenchfry and we think you should check it out after you vote on the poll regarding the prequel.**

* * *

Lars smiled and held Madeline close to him. "You silly little girl." He chuckled softly, holding the girl against his broad chest. "Of course I love you."

Madeline giggled. "I love you t-" She was cut off by his snickering. The gentle air around them than was ruined by his laughter which swelled.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't hold it in any longer!" He said in between gasps.

Madeline raised an eyebrow. "Babe...what's so funny?" She asked.

Lars leaned against the wall of her bedroom. "You! You actually thought I loved you? You're so naïve!" He chuckled, his laughter dying out. He wiped the tears from his eyes and smirked. "Mads, you were just an easy lay, that's all! All I had to do was butter you up and keep saying I love you and you just melted in my hands! Really, it was almost _too_ easy."

Maddy shook her head slowly, fear in her eyes. "No, no that's not true..."

Lars's form started distorting and he grew taller and her room started to dissolve. Maddy backed up away from the blonde. "N-no…" She whispered as her eyes stung with tears and her back hit something cold. She turned around and saw that she backed into a glass wall. She saw Lars and her kissing on her bed when she was in sophomore year... her first time. Madeline quickly looked away as the monster that was Lars grabbed her and slammed her down and as she landed, she woke up with a start.


	15. In Which The Sugar Plums Dance: Part 2

**And now for a little insight on Gilbert's flashback during the club chapters. This one is 429 words!**

 **Well the poll still stands and now would be the perfect time to begin posting, so hurry and vote. Our Spotify account is epically2cute4frenchfry, but honestly I've mentioned this several times by now and if you weren't interested the first few times you won't be now, so I'll give it a rest.**

 **2cute4lyfe and I do not own Hetalia.**

* * *

As Madeline dreamed her nightmare, Gilbert was suffering his own.

The lush green landscape was familiar. It was his college, the same as it'd always been. And there she was too.

At first glance, you'd never expect her to be a monster. She was so beautiful, with big doe eyes and curly hair framing her cute round face. She wore an oversized heather gray sweater over a short pink skirt, flats on her feet. When she smiled, it was with lips painted a pale pink.

He loved her, and he liked to think she loved him too. But what sort of love resulted in bruised skin and a broken heart?

"I gave you everything!" She raged. "You're nothing without me!" She made her point with a hard punch to his chest. She was smart enough not to leave bruises in visible spots, and she was also smart enough to know his sensitive spots. The blow winded him; he took a shaky breath and tried to force words past his lips, to apologize, but she shoved him and he fell hard on his ass. She climbed on top of him with that awful smile, blue eyes like chips of ice. He swallowed hard, knowing exactly what would come next as the door opened slowly and a familiar figure entered the room.

The sliver of light that filtered through the open door morphed into a scene where he was a child. He remembered this. Young Gilbert, who had to be no older than seven and was scrawny even for his age, was crying. Gilbert grimaced at the sight. He hated thinking about this time of his life and now it was being forced upon him. He recognized this place too. It was the forest he always ran off to escape his father. He wasn't a bad father, he just got sick of always being ignored and overlooked in favor of his brother. And here no one could find him. Young Gilbert sniffled and smiled weakly. "Kesese... He just doesn't realize yet how awesome I am!" Despite the optimistic nature of the words, his eyes were dull.

Her words echoed in Gilbert's head; "You're nothing without me! Fucking nothing! You're shit on my shoe! Don't you fucking dare think that you can mouth me ever again! I own your sorry ass! You're worthless!"

And he was back in his old college dorm, with her looking down at him imperiously, lip curled in disgust. Behind her, he could see him. The door slammed behind him, and Gilbert woke up, and he was worthless.

* * *

 **Ugh. Here in my home of smalltown New York, it is 1:15am. I should probably go to bed. Or I could watch Fairy Tail. I think I'll do that.**

 **Regardless, this is the final chapter for tonight! Farewell for now!**


	16. In Which Madeline Takes A Stand

**HEY EVERYBODY! Sorry for the short hiatus. Our schedules have been a bit out of wack what with homework and all, so roleplaying can be tough sometimes.**

 **We've decided to wait to post the prequel until this main story is finished, mainly to prevent possible spoilers. Our Spotify account epically2cute4frenchfry, as we have realized, does not seem to show up when searched and we're not sure why this is, but we're trying to figure it out.**

 **We do not own Hetalia, only the plot of the story.**

* * *

Madeline's bright violet eyes snapped open, glistening with tears. She sat up and rubbed her face, getting out of bed and shivering a bit. Her feet hit the cool wooden floor and it creaked as she wrapped a blanket around her torso and quietly walked down the hall to look for the bathroom and someone's room where she could borrow some clothes. She saw that a door was ajar across the hall and she peeked in. She was relieved to see white hair peeking out of the black and red blankets. She snuck in, hoping there were clothes around, and she found a Rammstein t-shirt with checkered sweat pants. She picked them up and snuck back out and to her room to change quickly. The tears began to subside as she tried not to think about her nightmare and she quickly tossed the t-shirt on. It was too big for her but she decided that it was fine and she slipped the sweat pants on, tying them tight so they wouldn't slip off. She went down to the bathroom, creating a mental plan on how to fix her problem.

Gilbert stared blearily at the door. The slamming sound in his dream had sounded far too real, and his closet door was open. Had he left it open? He didn't know, his head was still pounding and while he could tell he had sobered considerably, he wasn't quite there yet. So had he left the door open, or had someone just left his room?

He slid unsteadily out of bed, noticing that he was still fully dressed. He really couldn't remember anything. He must have gotten really drunk and he probably passed out. Ludwig would be annoyed with him then for doing something... Great. Gilbert puzzled over how to apologize to him for whatever he did as he tottered to the door and opened it up, peering out into the hallway. No one was there, so he stepped carefully out of his bedroom and maneuvered himself down the hall, noticing that Maddy's door was ajar. Peeking inside told him that the room was empty. So it was Madeline... "What the hell is she doing up?" Gilbert grumbled to himself. He headed off downstairs to get a glass of water and just as he did so he heard her moving about in the kitchen. He froze where he stood on the stairs, listening intently.

Madeline put her hair up into a loose bun and was looking for Monique's flats which she had seen earlier and slipped them on. She had decided to go and see Lars. She pulled out her cell phone, the bright screen of which made her location obvious to Gilbert. She pulled the paper out that Lars gave her and she punched the number in. She waited as the phone rang and she heard a voice on the other line, the deep raw voice that made her stomach turn.

"Hey babe, I knew you would call."

"Hi Lars." She replied softly.

Gilbert gritted his teeth. Lars? Why the hell was she calling that douchebag? He inched closer, making sure to keep his head down so she didn't see him. He couldn't hear Lars's end of the conversation, but from Maddy's responses he could make some pretty good guesses.

Madeline nodded at some things that he had said. "Okay, I'll be there right away. See you soon Lars." She said then she heard a soft chuckle identical to the one in her nightmare. She quickly hung up and took in a shaky breath. She grabbed her jacket then unlocked the door and snuck out.

Gilbert stared. Really? Was she honestly that stupid? Though he'd just met her the previous day, he had high expectations for Madeline and she just disappointed all of them. He tripped awesomely down the rest of the stairs and followed her in what he would like to think was a stealthy manor (but really he swayed on his feet and stumbled every few steps). He slipped out of the house and scooted along the side of the house, watching her get into her car with narrowed eyes. He edged along the house and darted swiftly to the Volkswagen he had salvaged from Arthur's rage. Though it was pink, he liked it and started the engine after stroking the dashboard lovingly. He waited until she was gone for a few long moments then followed her car for fifteen minutes down clearly sketchy back roads that he didn't even know existed in Albany. Of course, he'd spent his entire life travelling all over Eurasia and had never set foot in the Americas, so he wouldn't know, but somehow it still didn't seem like a likely place for back roads to be a thing.

Finally she pulled to the side of the road and he too stopped the car, parking it just out of sight from both Madeline and the road and he began to follow her on foot, thanking his self from a few hours ago for choosing to wear black. He snickered silently with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. "I'd like to see Arthur top this! Pure ninja right here!" He murmured because he just couldn't help himself.

Ahead he could see her through the trees, and with her was the douchebag from the club, blond hair still gelled up in what he must have thought was a cool hairstyle but really just made him look like he was trying way too hard. Gilbert crouched behind a knotted mess of brambles and watched.

Madeline and Lars had agreed to meet at their old bonfire hangout. She walked up to him nervously. Lars examined her with the light the moon provided. He raised an eyebrow. "Whose clothes are those?"

Madeline looked down. "Gilbert's. The guy with white hair. I borrowed his clothes cause I was cold."

Lars nodded. "Yeah well, now you can wear my clothes... or no clothes at all." He smirked.

Maddy shook her head firmly. "No, Lars. I came here to settle things. I keep dreaming about us and I just want to be able to move on with my life."

"I'm sorry, what?" Lars scoffed with a confused look on his face. "Baby girl, I'm back in the country. We can be together again."

"No. I used to think you were perfect, my bad boy with a troubled past who would change for me... but you won't change. You'll never change." She looked up at him "I deserve better than a druggie who runs away from his problems instead of being a man and facing them." She added, voice getting louder as her true feelings came out. A lone tear ran down her cheek. Surprised, Lars reached out to wipe the tear away and she let him. "You're a coward Lars."

Lars denied it with a shake of his head. "No, I'm not… I left for your safety."

Gilbert scoffed to himself. Yeah right, and he was Sid Vicious. If Lars left for her safety then he wouldn't have come back. He wanted nothing more than to leave his hiding place and call him out on his shit.

On the other hand, he commended Madeline for doing that in his place. She was right, she did deserve better than this garbage who cared more about his drugs than he did her. He nodded approvingly.

Madeline started to get angry and stepped back so his hand wasn't touching her anymore. She glared fiercely at him. "Don't feed me your bullshit Lars!" She snapped angrily. "You ruined my high school life! You took my virginity when I was in freshman year, you made me dress like a god damned slut, and you treated me as if I was some kind of new accessory! You used me and showed me off to your friends then got rid of me when you found out I was broken."

Lars was speechless. His Canadian princess had never snapped at him before. "I didn't get rid of you. I never stopped loving you."

"SHUT UP!" She yelled, by now glad that they had planned to meet away from the public eye.

Gilbert shifted his weight to balance on the balls of his feet, still in a low crouch, getting ready to jump out and defend her at a moment's notice. If that asshole laid a single hand on her...

Alerted by the sound of crunching leaves, one of Lars's friends saw Gilbert and slammed a nearby fallen branch against his head, which instantly knocked him out. Gilbert didn't know what had happened. One second he's preparing himself to kick some ass and the next there's a sick crack accompanied by a horrible blinding pain, all of which lasted a split second before the world went black and he knew nothing. Lars's sidekick picked Gilbert up by the back of his shirt and tossed him at Lars's feet. "We got ourselves an eavesdropper." He chuckled darkly.


	17. In Which Gil & Maddy Bond Through MKX

**We do not own Hetalia or the Mortal Kombat franchise.**

* * *

Alfred awoke and felt odd. Following gut instinct, he went to go check on Madeline but saw that she was gone. He quickly ran in her room and looked through her purse, noticing her keys were missing. He thought for a minute and knew exactly what happened. He quickly went down to the kitchen and threw his shoes and jacket on. Alfred grabbed the keys to the Agent X van and ran outside, starting up the van and speeding off down the street.

* * *

Madeline gasped when she recognized the body. She bent down to check if Gil was okay and checked his pulse. Madeline reached out and checked if he was breathing. She felt a slow but steady beat and felt relief wash over her.

Lars raised an eyebrow. "Oh, the punk from the club?" He smirked.

Maddy glared upward. "Don't you dare hurt him." She said and leaned over him defensively.

Lars shrugged. "Listen, he is in the way of us."

"There is no us, Lars! I am done with this!" While they argued, the van whipped around and parked near Madeline's car. Alfred stormed outside and into the argument, and without a word, punched Lars right in the face. Lars stumbled back, not expecting it. Alfred ran up and punched him again, this time knocking him flat on his back.

Lars's men ran out from their hiding spots and ran towards Alfred. There were four guys charging at Alfred from all different directions. Alfred grabbed the closest weapon, the branch used to take out Gilbert, and started fighting off the goons with ease. He whipped the branch around at the men in a blind rage, the few left now afraid of him.

Lars snarled. "What the fuck!" he hissed and wiped blood from his nose. Alfred than grabbed a handful of Lars's blonde hair, shoving his head down as he quickly raised his knee up. Lars was now off balance but before he could stumble back, Alfred grabbed him again, throwing Lars to the ground and kneeled down and roughly seized his jaw to look at him.

"Don't ever think about contacting Madeline again. If you do, I won't hesitate to find a more permanent solution." He spat, then stood up and looked over the remaining men, his blue eyes with a predatory glint to them.

Madeline stood and put a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Alfred, let's go." Alfred nodded and picked up Gilbert and got in the car. Maddy got in her own car and drove off with Al following behind. She knew Alfred was upset with her for meeting Lars, but she was thankful he came. When they got back, Alfred put Gilbert back in his room and showered to get the dirt off of him, soon going to bed. Madeline couldn't sleep, so she stayed up in Gilbert's clothes alone in her room.

Gilbert woke up about half an hour later with a throbbing pain in the back of his skull. "Ah, jeez." He put a hand over the spot and rubbed it, glancing at the clock. It was only just past 5:30am and he was in his bed again. He recalled what had happened with a grimace and got out of bed, heading to the bathroom. He might as well shower since he wasn't going to be able to sleep now. By the time he stepped out of the shower, it was almost 6.

He wandered down the hall dressed in an old red t-shirt and pajama pants, peeking into Madeline's room to see if she was there. "Hey." He greeted. "I'm sorry about earlier."

Madeline was sitting in front of the window when she looked over at him. "Oh hey. Don't apologize... it's not your fault." She replied. "Why are you awake so early anyway? You should be resting." She asked in a concerned manner.

"I shouldn't have followed you, it was none of my business." Gilbert apologized again. "And if I go to bed now, I won't wake up for several hours."

Madeline nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry that you got hurt and that I stole your clothes."

"I don't care. Take what you want. Ludwig always hated those pants anyways. You might as well keep them." Gilbert chuckled. He walked over to her and sat crisscross on the floor. "Arthur and Lukas will be having tea and coffee in about an hour. Are you going to join them?"

Madeline shrugged and looked towards him. "If they don't mind. It sounds nice though." She smiled. "Do they always do that?" She asked.

"Yeah. It's a tradition. Make sure you're in the worst mood possible, cause then you'll fit right in. They're monsters in the morning." Gilbert shuddered at the thought.

Maddy smiled at the thought. "I'll try my best. It shouldn't be too hard after this morning." She murmured and looked out the window again. "Alfred is going to be pissy too, but he probably won't talk to me. His silent treatments are surprisingly upsetting. Usually I wish for him to stop talking, but damn he is good at making me feel like shit." She sighed softly and leaned her head on the window sill. "I deserve it. What I did was beyond stupid."

"No, it wasn't. You can't help how you feel about him, and you wanted closure. You're not to blame in this situation, he is for luring you out with sweet lies." Gilbert's eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed, deep in thought. "I mean, he's an asshole. That's how they function."

Madeline nodded slowly. She could tell from his tone that he had personal experience with people like Lars. She turned around to sit across from him on the floor, also sitting crisscross. "Since neither of us will be going back to sleep, what do you wanna do?" She asked, resting her chin on her palm.

"Well, I brought the new Mortal Kombat game with me. We can play that." Gilbert suggested with a faint smile.

Madeline smiled back and nodded in agreement. "Okay, MKX looks cool. I've watched Alfie play it. I usually never have time to play it myself." She said, her voice laced with small amounts of excitement.

"Yay, I knew I didn't bring the Xbox for nothing." Gilbert grabbed her hand and dragged her off to his bedroom, sitting her on his bed and stuffing a controller in her hands.

Maddy smiled and waited for him to get settled and watched as the game opened up. Gilbert chose Scorpion and Sub Zero as his characters and watched Madeline explore the selection. Madeline stifled a giggle when she saw his choice.

"Hm, enemies? Cute." She smiled and picked Cassie Cage and Kitana.

"What's cute about that?" Gilbert asked defensively. "They're my favorites."

"They are exact opposites." Maddy countered. "But if they work for you, so be it."

"They're my two favorites, so I make it work." Gilbert said stubbornly, waiting for their match to start.

Maddy nodded than heard the music and focused her attention on the game. She remembered only a few of the combos, thanks to Al. They played for a long while, getting increasingly into the game and at one point were screaming combos until Arthur poked his head into the bedroom, hair a ruffled mess and an air of hungover grouchiness around him.

"You're too loud." He growled. Gilbert flinched and forced a smile.

"Sorry!" He said brightly. Arthur grumbled and stalked away. "See what I mean? Anyways, I totally went easy on you. I let you win, cause I'm awesome like that." He lied, trying to heal his wounded pride.

"Sure, because your whimpering while Cassie Cage's fatality killed Scorpion was fake." Madeline smirked.

"Totally." Gilbert agreed. "It was 100% fake."

"Mhmm" She snickered and laid back on his bed and stretched. "Want to go another round?"

"Nah. Arthur's up anyways, so you might as well join him and Lukas." Gilbert said, dismissing his ulterior motives for not wanting to play another round. He stretched, flopping on his back and rolling onto his side to perfectly stretch his cramped side muscles. When he achieved this, he sighed contentedly and closed his eyes.

Madeline nodded and sat up letting him have more room to stretch. "Thanks again, for letting me wear your clothes... and stuff." She smiled and walked out.

"No problem." He called after her. After a moment he swung his feet off the bed and hopped off, heading off down the stairs to venture into Francis's room. He knew what had happened here last night, and he knew Francis would want some company.


	18. In Which There Is Awkwardness In The Air

**2cute4lyfe and I do not own Hetalia or either of the songs mentioned below.**

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Arthur steeped the tea and poured himself a cup, sitting heavily at the table. Lukas was already there with a mug of steaming coffee and the pot sitting in front of him on a pot holder. Lukas seemed to have expected Madeline, as there was another coffee mug waiting for her at the seat across from him.

Madeline noticed and poured some coffee in the mug with creamer and sat down. "Thank you." She told Lukas.

"Welcome." He grunted, sipping his coffee with a tranquil expression on his face. Arthur seemed pissed and irritable, likely due to his hangover.

Madeline looked over at the pissy Brit. "I have a bottle of aspirin in my purse if you would like some." She offered as she sipped her coffee.

"Yes please. Thank you." He said gratefully, catching the bottle as she tossed it to him and swallowing two pills with a gulp of tea.

Alfred sat up and rubbed his eyes. He had tried to go back to sleep when they got home but the adrenaline pumping through his veins hadn't let him. He showered quickly and put his shirt and pants from yesterday on. Last night before he'd gone after Madeline he had heard rather audible noises coming from Francis's room and it sickened him a bit. He really didn't need to hear his idol sound like that.

Madeline nodded and sipped her coffee some more. "This is really good." She hummed in approval. "What kind of coffee do you use?"

"Friele. It's Norwegian." Lukas replied. "It's fairly popular. I brought it from home."

Arthur chuckled, getting up to show her the two cabinets stuffed to the point of bursting with Friele coffee. "He bought out the whole shop."

"Well, at least you don't have to worry about running out for a while." Madeline giggled.

Arthur grimaced at the thought and Lukas nodded sagely. "Friele is the best coffee. None other will do." He spoke like it was the best advice she would ever receive in her entire lifetime.

Madeline nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you" She said with a smile gracing her lips as she took another sip of the delicious coffee.

Arthur looked up as Alfred entered the room. "Good morning, Alfred. Did you sleep well?" He inquired politely.

Alfred heard the voice he once swooned over and internally cringed. "Yeah… like a rock, thanks for asking." He gave Maddy an annoyed side glare. "How about you? Sleep well?" He asked.

"Alright." Arthur shrugged. He sipped his tea and cast a sidelong glance in Alfred's direction. "Do you want some coffee? Or tea?" He offered.

"I'll get some coffee in a minute. I'm going to make breakfast. Do you guys have bacon and eggs?"

"Yeah, I'll get them for you." Arthur got up and walked to the fridge, hand brushing against Alfred's as he passed. He bent over and fetched a pack of bacon and a carton of eggs from the bottom shelf in the fridge and placed them on the counter. "Want help?" He offered with a friendly smile.

Alfred's breath caught in his throat when Arthur's warm skin touched his. The images flashing through his mind were making him avoid eye contact. Once Arthur asked, Alfred subconsciously looked over and looked into those piercing green orbs. He was going to smile because of how cute he looked, but last night's sensual sounds flooded back into his head and he looked back down. "No, thank you. You can relax and drink your tea" He quickly replied and forced a smile at the end, not daring to look at him.

"O-okay." Arthur said bemusedly. He returned to the table and exchanged a raised-eyebrow look with Lukas.

"Alfred you sure you don't need help? We don't mind." Madeline offered.

Alfred turned around and locked eyes with his sister. "YOU'VE done enough." He snapped and looked away from the girl. He was annoyed and disappointed that she went to see Lars earlier.

Arthur blinked. "What's up with you?" He asked wondrously and then flinched at the volume of his own voice. "Ah, shit, headache..." He hissed softly. Alfred sighed and pretended he didn't hear it as he continued to cook. Maddy slouched back in the chair and looked into her coffee cup, a small pout on her lips.

Antonio sprinted past the kitchen and dashed into Francis's room, slamming the door behind him. "Francis! Are you okay?" He shouted.

"You alright, Franny?" Gilbert asked, rubbing his friend's shoulder. Francis nodded glumly. Antonio sat down on Francis's other side and offered a hug, because hugs make everything better. "Hey, I have an idea…"

Arthur decided that while Alfred was cooking, he would heat up some leftover crepes from the baking contest the day before as an appetizer. He abandoned his chair and lounged against the wall, nibbling on one and chatting casually with Lukas and Madeline. They were interrupted by a loud riff on a guitar from down the hall. He looked up exasperatedly. "What on earth are they doing now?" He complained. Lukas stood and strode off, coffee in hand. The guitar grew louder as he opened Francis's bedroom door and it became evident that the trio was singing, but what exactly Arthur couldn't tell. Both the singing and the guitar stopped abruptly and there was a heated exchange before Lukas snapped "Well keep it down!" and slammed the door, storming back to the kitchen in an even fouler mood than before.

The grumpy Norwegian helped himself to more coffee, drinking it straight before answering Arthur's expectant look. "They're singing a cover of Bad Company. Apparently it was a live broadcast and I interrupted it. Now they're pissed at me." He said uncaringly.

"Didn't they do that three days ago?" Arthur sighed.

"That was Bad Touch." Lukas corrected.

"Ah." The guitar started up again louder than before and Arthur grit his teeth. "Clearly the message didn't sink in deep enough." And he himself went to chew them out.

Lukas rolled his eyes and nursed the mug of precious Friele clutched in his hands. "Idiots."

Arthur threw the door open so hard it slammed into the wall, almost knocking down a photo Francis had hung up. "It is 7 o'clock in the morning. We did not return home from the club until past one. I am experiencing the worst hangover I've had in several months. For your own safety, I strongly advise that you keep it the hell down." He said this all in a deathly calm voice that somehow managed to perfectly convey his rotten mood and imply the punishment they would receive if they disobeyed. "Understand?" They all nodded. "Good." He slammed the door shut again and returned to the kitchen.

The trio all exchanged looks. "Uh, I think that's it for today guys. Sorry." Gilbert said slowly. "Arthur will castrate us if we don't listen to him."

"Oui, he's a monster when he's hungover."

"Bye then. We'll have to get back to you all later." Antonio signed them off and set down his guitar.

As Arthur stormed back in, Maddy noticed how Arthur's ears were practically fuming smoke he was so enraged. She made a mental note to try and avoid pissing him off further. At that moment she felt a vibration in the pocket of her newly acquired plaid pants. She checked her cell phone and saw that her friend Ivan had texted her.

Arthur, still seething, downed the rest of his tea like a shot and got some more. The trio soon left Francis's room and Antonio returned upstairs to check on Lovino, who was still sleeping. Gilbert went off to pester Ludwig, and Francis entered the kitchen. He ruffled Arthur's hair affectionately as he passed on his way to the fridge for some orange juice. Arthur ducked his head down and glowered at him.

Alfred watched the care-free affectionate touches. He gripped the pan handle tighter and flipped the bacon, trying to take his mind off it. He couldn't look at Arthur the same, never again. Now when he watches re-runs the thought of him and Francis would distract him from the main content.

Arthur sat in silence for a second. "Francis? May I speak to you in the hallway please?"

Francis nodded, a little confused by the oddly formal request, but he followed Arthur into the hall. "What is it, Arthur?"

Arthur took a deep breath. "I remember what happened last night. I always remember, even if I act like I don't."

Francis couldn't help but feel a flutter of hope in his heart though he knew logically that this couldn't be a good thing. He was right.

"We can't keep doing this. It's unfair to you. For starters, neither one of one feels that way about one another, and I don't want to ruin our friendship with my drunken selfishness."

With those simple words, Francis's heart broke. He nodded numbly, acting like this was what he wanted as well. Arthur smiled at him and Francis crumbled further. He never did have a chance, did he? He was foolish for hoping.

"Thank you for putting up it for so long. I'm sorry you had to."

'I didn't have to,' Francis wanted to say. 'I wanted to. I love you...' Instead he said, "Thank you, Arthur."


	19. In Which Everyone Has Heart-To-Hearts

**Hello everyone! Sorry if this chapter has any errors, I may have missed a few whilst editing. Please let me know if you spot any. I am searching for a beta, so if anyone is interested I would love to discuss it!**

 **2cute4lyfe and I do not own Hetalia.**

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Alfred went to grab plates and heard the conversation and listened for a moment. After a moment he smiled and felt a bit of relief. 'So they aren't romantically involved, perfect' he thought. He grabbed the plates then put them on the counter and put the bacon on one plate and let it pile up as he continued to cook.

Arthur and Francis reentered the kitchen, the former in a considerably better mood than the latter. Arthur poured himself another cup of tea and offered some to Francis, who denied it in favor of coffee. Arthur wandered over to Alfred and peeked over his shoulder. "Where'd you learn to cook?" He said, already knowing the answer would likely be Maddy. "That looks delicious."

Alfred smiled. "Thanks, when I was young my mom taught me and Madeline helped me perfect it when we started living together, mostly so she didn't have to cook all the time" He chuckled. "So the bacon is sizzling and ready to be plated. How do you guys want your eggs?" He asked the people in the kitchen.

"Scrambled." Lukas said, and they all agreed.

Arthur helped him carry the stuff over to the table and set the table like a good little housewife. Alfred cracked the eggs and put them in a large bowl with some milk to make them fluffy and cooked it.

Madeline looked over. "Want me to get Gil and the others?" She asked.

"Gil's probably bothering Ludwig as he brushed his teeth. I'd stay out of it." Lukas grunted.

"Toni probably went back to bed if Lovino is still sleeping." Francis said, arranging the silverware.

Alfred quickly finished cooking the eggs since the pan was already searing hot. He put the eggs in a huge bowl so everyone could get what they needed.

"It's like a continental breakfast." Arthur chuckled. Francis gave him a pained look and purposely got in line behind Madeline and Lukas so there was space between them.

"If it works, then who cares?" Alfred replied with a smile.

"I wasn't complaining." Arthur assured him. "It just reminds me of all the hotels we stayed in in Europe."

Alfred nodded. "Ah, well I would expect you all to be sick of hotels. I know I would be" he smiled.

"Actually, I'm homesick. I was never really welcome at my real home, so they practically were my home..." He trailed off and looked away. Francis, seeing this, repressed his negative emotions and put a hand on his shoulder and guided him away. Alfred looked down, feeling bad that he brought up bad memories.

Maddy chatted with Lukas while they served themselves. "Is Matthias a late sleeper?" She wondered.

"Yeah, Matt always sleeps in late. Plus I had to wake him up early to pick you guys up so he won't be up for at least another hour." Lukas nodded.

"Ahh okie. Are you naturally an early riser?"

"Always." Lukas confirmed.

Francis left Arthur with his tea at the table. He would be fine, he knew that, but he still worried. He approached Alfred and put a hand on his shoulder. "You didn't do anything wrong, Alfred. He's just very sensitive. He's been through a lot when it comes to family." He reassured him.

Alfred nodded and looked back at the last of the sizzling bacon in the pan. He flipped it and put it with the rest of the bacon. Madeline and Lukas got their food and sat down. Eventually the rest of the occupants of the house joined them and the kitchen grew quite crowded. The food quickly disappeared and those that remained in the kitchen milled about chatting.

Arthur returned to his bedroom, stripping off all of his clothes which he still wore from the previous night and pulled a fresh pair of boxers on. He sighed and sat down on the floor, lying back and staring up at the ceiling. He glanced down at his bare chest and noted each of the round bruises dotting his skin. Hickies. He sighed again and shifted his hips. His ass was freakishly sore and it was uncomfortable to have weight on it. Sitting for breakfast had been hell. He reluctantly tugged on some jeans and was picking out a comfy tee when there was a knock on his door and Alfred entered.

"Al?" He asked curiously. "Hey, are you okay? You seemed odd during breakfast."

Alfrer nodded. "Me? Yeah I was okay... I just came in to check on you. You were also acting unusually quiet, do you still have a hangover or something?" He asked, concerned, as he sat down on the bed.

Arthur let the shirt fall to his lap and looked down at the numerous marks spotting his pale chest. "I'm sorry if you, um... Heard things last night. It's every time I get drunk, I can't control myself and I beat myself up over it until the next time it happens. I feel bad for Francis, I guess is what I'm trying to say." He lapsed into a brief silence then laughed derisively. "Listen to me, making excuses. Sorry you have to listen to me. You probably don't care." He stood and tugged the shirt on, covering up the evidence of his shame.

Alfred patted his shoulder. "I understand completely," he sighed. Alfred sat back down and looked up at Arthur. "I um... also heard you speaking with him this morning." He admitted.

Arthur's cheeks tinted pink. "Oh... You did? Well fuck, that's embarrassing." He laughed awkwardly.

"More embarrassing than me hearing you and Francis last night?" Alfred chuckled softly but then looked down. "But it's not that worst thing that happened last night, so its fine."

Arthur sat next to him and watched him curiously. "What happened? You were snippy with Madeline too; I was wondering about that."

Alfred sighed. "She snuck out and met up with Lars, and Gil followed her out there. He got his ass knocked out though. I got a bad gut feeling that woke me up and went to find her. I took care of it and brought them home. So that's why Maddy looks tired and that's why Gil has a bandage hidden under his hair."

"And why the Volkswagen is missing?" Arthur rolled his eyes. "Is she okay? I'm going to guess that Gilbert tried to play hero and that's how he got hurt?"

Alfred confirmed this with a nod. "Gilbert didn't know that Lars never traveled alone. He always has at least three assholes following him, because a lot of people want him dead. Me included." He got up and ran a hand through his hair. "But I guess Maddy had gone there to break it off for good and Gil must have noticed the tension levels rising."

"Well, he certainly makes it seem so but he isn't stupid. Gil's actually pretty sharp- or rather, he has good intuition. He's good at reading the atmosphere of situations." Arthur nodded in agreement with himself. "He does however, have a knack for underestimating others and he often pays for it."

Alfred shrugged slightly. "Well I'm glad no one seriously hurt." He thought about what he said and smirked. "At least, Maddy, Gil, and I didn't."

"I'm going to guess you did a number on them? Heh, I bet Gil's pride is wounded." He chuckled slyly. "Good thing, too. He's too full of himself. Damn narcissist."

"Yeah, but it's better than being scared and highly self-conscious." Alfred pointed out.

"True." Arthur acknowledged the truth of the statement with a tilt of his head. He rubbed subconsciously at his hip, which was sore from the events of the night. "I'm sorry, again, for last night."

Alfred shook his head. "We're only human, we all make mistakes. You don't need to apologize."

"Only a true fool would make the same mistake as many times as I have." Arthur said with self-loathing in his voice.

Alfred put a hand on his shoulder. "You're far from a fool Arthur. You just sometimes make bad choices, and we all do. Since it's in the past, all you have to do is look towards the future."

Arthur stared at him. "...are you Jesus?" He asked seriously. "Because that is some hardcore Jesus shit right there."

Alfred shook his head, grinning. "No, I'm not Jesus. I couldn't pull off the long brown hair stuff." He laughed softly. "But I have been looking through Madeline's Dr. Phil books."

"I think you could pull it off, if your hair was long and brown."

"Ya think so?" He smiled. "Well, thank you. But if I'm Jesus, you can be an angel."

"A fallen angel." Arthur murmured under his breath. "Thanks." He said, loud enough for Alfred to hear.

Alfred noticed the subtle change in Arthur and removed his hand. He glanced at the little digital alarm clock on Arthur's nightstand and bit his lip. "Well, I'm going to see if Madeline needs help with dishes." He spoke softly and gave Arthur a heartwarming smile before leaving to help his sister.

Arthur watched him leave and got up off the bed with a deep sigh. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and dialed a number. It rang, and his agent picked up.

"Hello Arthur."

"Hey Kiku. How's that new job looking?"

"They loved you at the audition, of course. They said that production would begin this time next year, so you have plenty of time to finish up Agent X."

"Cool. And the graphic novels?"

"The 23rd volume is being released next week."

"That was fast."

"Mm."

"Good, good." Arthur murmured. Talking to Kiku was always a rather awkward experience, since the Japanese man had a tendency to say as little as possible while still getting the point across, and it made Arthur feel like a blathering idiot. However, he was one of his best friends and it came as a stroke of luck that his agent also had connections in a publishing industry. They created a graphic novel series together and their friendship flourished.

Arthur and Kiku finished up their call and Arthur departed his bedroom, returning to the kitchen and bumping into Peter along the way. Peter rubbed his eye with his fist tiredly than looked up at his brother.

"Oh, hi Arthur." He yawned hugely.

Monique was also in a groggy state of mind as she shuffled through the kitchen making tea for herself and getting Peter some orange juice. Madeline and Alfred were still doing dishes. Alfred seemed upset yet he actually spoke with Maddy, both of them trying to resolve what happened earlier.

"Hey Peter. You sure slept in late. Want some breakfast? Look, there's plenty left. Alfred sure made a lot." Arthur guided him over to the table and brought him a plate full of eggs, bacon, and pancakes. "Here."

Peter smiled, eyes still half lidded. "Thank you Artie." He mumbled. Arthur smiled. He was so sweet when he was exhausted.

Madeline went and grabbed her cellphone, taking it with her into the living room and sitting down on the loveseat next to Gilbert, looking up at the television.

Gilbert set down his pen on his paper and looked over. "Hey. Are you alright? I know you talked to Alfred."

Madeline nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay... he is still mad. But he understands, I think." She replied and ran a hand through her dirty blonde hair, gathering it up and pulling it up into a loose ponytail.

"That's good." Gilbert picked up the pen and started writing again, pausing every now and again to think. Madeline looked over curiously at what he was writing but couldn't make it out.

Then one of the cats jumped up and cuddled into her lap. She smiled and began to pet the cat, then another jumped up on the back of the loveseat and laid across her neck. She giggled and turned to the side and the newly arrived cat rubbed its cheek against her cheek, purring.

Gilbert chuckled softly, setting down his pen once again and watching her fondly. "He likes to be petted behind the ears." He informed her, speaking about Lovino's cat Basil, who was cuddled on her lap.

Maddy nodded and rubbed Basil behind the ears, and the other hand rubbed under his chin, which turned him into a purring mess.

Gilcat sauntered over from his spot curled up next to Gilbert and jumped into her lap and settled back down, purring contentedly. Gilbert watched as his bird soon fluttered down from his head to join his cat, nestling on her shoulder against her cheek. Gilbert smiled and snapped a quick picture of her covered in animals on his phone. "He likes you." He remarked. "You must be a perfect human being!"

Madeline blushed. "I'm far from it, but I'm glad the animals like me".

"You know what they say. Animals are the best judge of character." Gilbert said wisely.

"That explains why Kuma hated Lars." She said thoughtfully, thinking about her dog.

"Kuma?" Gilbert inquired. "Who's that?"

"My dog. He is really fluffy and huge. He looks like a bear" She smiled fondly. "He was sleeping when you guys came over. He is really lazy."

"Aw! I can't wait to meet him!" Gilbert said excitedly. Dogs loved him, and he loved dogs.

"I bet he would love you. He might be attracted to your white hair."

"Is he white too?" Gilbert fingered the choppy bangs that he had cut himself. "What kind of dog is he?"

"Kuma is a Chow Chow. He actually isn't that big yet, but the thick fur makes him seem larger. And he is like an off white, I have pictures." She smiled and pulled out her phone to show him her beloved dog.

"He's so cute! I love Chows!" Gilbert cooed. He got up and ran out of the room, abandoning his pencil and paper. He returned several minutes later half-carrying, half-dragging a rather disgruntled looking German Shepherd. "This is Blackie! She's actually Luddy's, but she likes me better." This statement was challenged by the unamused stare he was currently receiving from the dog, but he laughed and kissed the top of her head and Blackie licked his cheek, seemingly forgiving him as he set her down.

Madeline's eyes sparkled. Gilcat put his paw on her face to try and get her attention. Maddy 'aww'ed at the white cat and cuddled him. "Too many cute animals!"

Gilbert sat back down next to her and leaned his chin on his palm, watching with a content smile. Blackie laid her head on his lap and he idly stroked her silky ears. Madeline's cheeks were flushed a soft pink and her eyes were alight with joy as the cats crowded her lap. A strange feeling of affection washed over him, vaguely familiar in its warmth yet something he didn't think he had ever felt before.

"How did he get this scar over his eye?" Madeline asked curiously, indicating the pinkish scar that trailed over the cat's right eye.

"Oh, that. He got in a fight with my agent Roderich's cat and his girlfriend Elizaveta's cat decided to break it up as violently as possible. Of course, the damned thing didn't touch Mozart." Gilbert rolled his eyes, remembering how furious he was with Elizaveta when he caught sight of his injured and heavily bleeding cat, stumbling about and wailing in pain.

"That's awful!"

"I sent her the vet bills. But he can't really see out of that eye anymore."

Madeline inspected the eye, noting how it was slightly milky and glazed while the other eye was a clear blood red. She tsked sadly and scratched behind his ear. "It's kinda funny how he looks like you, color wise."

Gilbert laughed. "Yeah, that's part of why I picked him. That and his spunk. But I love albino animals, they're my favorite. They're so unique."

Madeline scrunched up her nose when Gilcat licked her cheek with his rough tongue. She rubbed under his chin, but then her phone vibrated in her pocket, alerting her of a new notification. She pulled it out of her pocket and read the text message. She sighed and whispered something to Gilbird and Gilcat.

"What's wrong?" Gilbert asked, cocking his head as his bird and cat reconvened on his lap. Basil hopped off her lap and strolled away, tail waving jauntily. He was probably going off to take a nap.

Maddy sighed. "I forgot I had to work today. I'll have to be going now." She said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Aw... bye!" Gilbert waved sadly, waving Gilcat's paw as well. "Hurry back! We'll miss you!"

Maddy smiled and nodded. "I'll miss you guys to. I'm going to go find Francis and say bye, thank you all for letting Al and I stay the night." she reminded and went to grab her clothes and say bye to her cousin.

But Madeline would not find Francis anytime soon, for he was currently sitting outside smoking a cigarette with a faraway look in his eyes. He couldn't even find it in him to cry. He'd known this was coming, after all. An alcohol-induced fling would never last, not even one that'd been going on since college. He had not smoked in ages, and he had no addiction that caused him to, but sometimes he just really needed it. The foul taste of the cigarette reminded him of Arthur and how that taste was always on his tongue.

But Arthur was kicking that habit, just like he had with him. Francis didn't know what would happen the next time Arthur got drunk, but he knew that he would have to make sure that he was far away.

Francis tipped his head back and blew smoke from his pursed lips. He watched it curl and dissipate in the cool autumn air. He gazed out over the dying green grass of the backyard. The trees that dotted the land were adorned with leaves of varying shades of red, amber, and a deep golden yellow. Nothing lasted, everything died.

Madeline didn't really think that Francis would be outside, but she made the journey to the backyard anyways and found her cousin sitting on the bottom porch step, looking out over the landscape. She walked closer and leaned against the railing next to Francis. "That's not a good habit" She said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I know." Francis didn't defend himself. He merely stubbed the cigarette out on the grass next to him and stuffed it back inside the package. "What's up?"

Madeline walked off the porch and sat next to him on the porch step. "Well, I have to go and get ready for work shortly, but I wanted to say goodbye to you." She smiled and gently leaned her head against his shoulder. "What's eating at you?" She asked softly.

"Nothing much..." Francis lied. "You should head off to work. You don't want to be late and get in trouble."

"No, fuck them for a minute, I get ready early anyway. Now tell me. What's up with you?" She said seriously, looking deep into his eyes and seeing them glazed in sorrow.

"Arthur and I spoke this morning." He began, not really sure what to say to her about it.

Madeline nodded. "And guessing by the way you say that, you have romantic feeling towards him but he doesn't feel the same?"

"Yes. For about six years, he's never felt the same way." Francis sighed softly and gently shook his head. "But it doesn't matter. I can already guess what will happen between us from here."

Madeline reached over and held his hand in a comforting way. "I'm sorry to hear that." She whispered and leaned against him.

"After six years, I'm used to it. I'm fine. Seeing him happy is enough for me." His words were brave, but the smile he offered was weak and unsure.

Madeline gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "You deserve someone who can love you back. You deserve love and happiness. And I want you to be happy Francis."

"You're sweet, Madeline." Francis patted her hand and stood up. "But really, I'll be fine. I can't value my own happiness if it's at the cost of someone else's. You really should get to work. I would feel awful if you got in trouble because of me." He climbed the steps of the porch and reentered the house, gently shutting the French doors behind him.


	20. In Which Things May Be Moving Too Fast

**Today is the third anniversary of my presence on FFN, so to celebrate I am updating everything!**

 **I would love to thank my new beta elfqueen13, who is an amazing human being who did an amazing job~**

 **2cute4lyfe and I do not own Hetalia.**

* * *

Arthur and Alfred were in Arthur's bedroom, sitting cross-legged on the bed facing each other. Arthur held a stapled stack of paper, the rough draft of the next graphic novel. He handed it to Alfred, suddenly feeling nervous. It was different when he sent it to an editor for review. Somehow, handing it to someone in person was much more stressful. He was proud of this one, but he still worried that Alfred wouldn't like it.

Alfred was trying to conceal his giddiness by biting his lower lip. His sapphire eyes examined the sketch and he suppressed a squeal. "I had no idea you were a good drawer!" He exclaimed.

Arthur hid a pleased grin. "I drew all of the graphic novels." He watched as Alfred's eyes flitted across the pages, devouring it hungrily, like he had never seen something as amazing as Arthur's sloppy rough draft sketches. It was extremely flattering, even more so since he knew that it was genuine.

Alfred soon reached the end of the graphic novel and looked up at the Englishman, eyes wide. "Just... yes. Fans will eat this up!" He exclaimed, clutching it to his chest lovingly.

"I'm glad you like it." Arthur smiled and shifted slightly. "Now, um... I had a question to ask you." He said a little awkwardly. He'd only known the guy for two days, so how should he go about asking this? His cheeks turned a faint pink. This would be rather awkward.

"What is it Arthur?" He asked, an air of child-like excitement about him.

Arthur's gaze, imploring in the moment he allowed their eyes to meet, flicked away from Alfred as he spoke. "I'm sending this in today and I'll be starting the next one. The thing is, I'm going to need another character." His gaze returned to Alfred. "Can I model a character after you?"

Alfred's eyes widened and this time a squeal did escape. "Oh, that would be amazing! It would be an honor!" He cried ecstatically, excited beyond belief.

Arthur let out the breath he'd been holding "Oh, thank god. I was hoping that you would agree. Do you want to design it?" He passed Alfred one of his sketchbooks and a drawing pencil.

Alfred bit his lip and took the pencil gingerly. "How would you put him in? Have any ideas yet?"

"Well, since the graphic novels are sort of an origin story, you could be whatever you wanted. You could be a trainer at the agency, an officer, a fellow agent, a villain..." Arthur trailed off, feeling that Alfred had gotten the gist of it.

"I wanna be a badass trainer, maybe a gun specialist." He murmured, mulling over it. Then the inspiration started flowing and he began sketching a character. The way Alfred drew people was like they were from superhero comic books. Gradually, a tall man with short brown hair and blue eyes took shape on the page. He held twin pistols and was dressed in military pants with a tight shirt, showing his muscles.

Arthur whistled appreciatively. "Nice. I like your drawing style." He studied the character and grabbed another sketchbook, drawing Alfred's character in his own style. It was more mangafied, but he looked just about the same. Arthur showed it to Alfred for his approval.

"Perfection~" He sang his approval and watched dreamily as Arthur went back to add a few details.

Arthur fell into a deep level of concentration as he drew out several scenes with Alfred's character to get used to drawing him. He tried out different facial expressions and body language in a series of swift sketches, and finally settled on drawing a more detailed sketch of the character in a scene he was likely to use, surrounded by the guns he mastered, hands on hips, face set in a lecturing expression. "How's this?" He asked after a short while, having finished.

"It's really perfect! You're more amazing than I thought you were!"

Arthur laughed. "It's just a messy sketch, it's not that good." He denied the claims of his amazingness, but inside he felt warm and happy. He knew that Alfred wasn't exaggerating. Alfred really did believe what he said, and that was better than the truth.

Alfred saw the look on his face. "Oh, did I make it awkward? I'm sorry, it's just. . . I'm a fan of all of your work, not just Agent X. I love your book, your miniseries online, your YouTube channel, and now your art! Honestly, it's crazy how awesome you are." He blushed. "Not to mention your stunning eyes, adorable smile, and hell! You're fucking hot!"

Arthur's cheeks went pink again. "Ah. . . T-thanks." He really didn't know what to say to that. He lowered his eyes; he could feel his cheeks burning and his heart thumped in his chest.

Alfred chuckled. "Sorry. . . I didn't mean to be so blunt. Well I did, but I mean. . . I didn't want to make you more uncomfortable." He blushed.

"No it's fine. You didn't. I'm flattered that you think so highly of me." Arthur blushed again, cursing his pale skin that made it so much more obvious.

He glanced up at Alfred to find that he had moved much closer, a hazed look in his eyes. Subconsciously he moved in as well, and the next second Alfred's lips were pressed against his. Arthur was stock still, staring at Alfred's closed eyes. He was hardly aware of how he was returning this unexpected kiss. His mind was numbed by the tingles coursing through his nerves.

Alfred also felt electricity in his veins and sparks in his chest. He pulled away when reality caught up with him and bit his lip. "Oh shit, I'm sorry!" He cried, alarmed. "I felt. . . I just. . ." He stammered and couldn't coherently finish his sentence, so he hurriedly left the room.

Arthur remained where he was, frozen. He reached up and touched his lips, pursing them in confusion. "Well that was. . . unexpected. . ."

* * *

Alfred went downstairs to get a drink of water from the kitchen, where he found Gilbert nursing a beer. "A little too early to start drinking, isn't it?" He chuckled, trying to act like nothing had happened.

"Beer is the essence of my life." Gilbert gave him a simple reply as he sipped his beer. He set the bottle down and stared at the paper before him, the paper he'd been working on when he was with Madeline earlier. He gazed at it for a minute before heaving a sigh and dropping his head onto the table, his chin smacking painfully on the hard wood. He barely winced, ignoring the twinge as his eyes followed Alfred as he fetched his glass of water. "I take it you didn't sleep last night. Come to think of it, I don't remember much. What exactly happened?"

Alfred shook his head and sipped the water. "Well... you stalked Madeline when she went to meet Lars, then got worried for her safety as he got more aggressive. You then went to help her and got knocked the fuck out by one of his servants. Then, being the hero I am, I came and saved both your asses!" He grinned, but it quickly went away. "I'm still surprised you actually went and followed her."

"I woke up and caught her on the phone with him, so I awesomely decided to make sure she was okay," Gilbert explained. He didn't remember anything after he was about to leave the cover of the bush. He was embarrassed to find that he had gotten taken out so easily, but at least Alfred had been there to save her. "She's lucky to have a big brother to look after her." Gilbert smiled wistfully as he said this.

Alfred chuckled, albeit a bit dryly. "I wish I could agree with you. Ever since I met her I was nothing but selfish. I never cared for her safety or wellbeing, it was always about me. In fact, if she'd moved away right after high school I probably wouldn't be able to tell you her middle name. I only started noticing her existence as her own person recently. I truly am a terrible brother. She was the great sibling. . . hell, she's even older than me by a few days. So I was her spoiled little brother, who she cared for everyday of her life." He realized his ramblings were most likely annoying so he stopped and looked at Gilbert. "I need to start making it up to her for all of that, and that was only the beginning."

Gilbert lifted his head in surprise. He regarded Alfred for a moment and then sighed and lowered his head back down to the table, laying his cheek against the cool wood and closing his eyes in contemplation. "Why don't you grab a beer? You're gonna want one."

Alfred looked up slightly surprised but didn't reject. He grabbed a beer and sat across from Gilbert. "You have a little brother, right? How do you handle keeping a healthy relationship?" He asked curiously.

"I try not to crowd him or come across as overbearing. I mean, he's 21. He's an adult, and of course an adult would hate to be treated like a child who can't take care of itself. But I keep an eye on him just to make sure that he's alright, even though I know he is. That's because as his older brother, it's my responsibility, especially without our dad around. Without your parents here, she's the only family you've got. It's natural to feel overprotective, but you do have to remember that she is an adult. However, judging from what I know of her past, I won't say that it's a bad idea to watch over here. She seems prone to making bad decisions regarding a certain arschloch. Anyways, I guess my point is to not make her feel like a little kid, cause she'll just grow to dislike you. I can tell that she loves you, but she probably wants a little space." Gilbert spoke at length, thinking about his own relationship with Ludwig. It was different for them, but for Alfred and Madeline there were complications. That would make things a little harder.

Alfred nodded and sipped the beer. "But. . . how do I make up for years of douchery?" he asked. "I don't want to crowd her, but I also want her to know I care now, and that I'm here for her."

"Trust me, she knows," Gilbert said with a smile. "As for how to make up for everything. . . Just try and do little things for her. Nice things, like make her pancakes or something," he suggested.

"Little things. Okay, that sounds simple enough," he agreed and smiled at the snowy-haired man. "Thank you."

"No prob." Gilbert waved it off, draining his beer and setting down the empty bottle. "She went to work, so did you want to do something now? Make a little surprise for her when she comes home?"

Alfred thought than smiled happily. "I have an idea she'll never expect. I'll clean our house, do the laundry and make dinner. You guys are invited, of course!"

Gilbert laughed. "I think she'll like that. And I'm sure that we will take you up on that offer."

Alfred sky blue eyes sparkled with excitement. "I should go now then. She should be showered and on her way to work by now, it only takes her fifteen minutes. This is great! Thanks for the talk Gil, you helped open my eyes!" He said cheerfully and dashed out of the kitchen, slipping his shoes on. He grabbed his keys and ran outside to his car, driving off to his house almost vibrating with excitement.

Gilbert watched him leave with an amused look. He was such a happy guy, and it was contagious. He fetched himself a pot of coffee and turned on the radio. He was humming along to some catchy song when Arthur peeked in the kitchen, looking around warily.

"Did Alfred leave?" He asked. Gilbert nodded, raising an eyebrow as Arthur sighed in relief and slipped inside, grabbing his mug from earlier and collecting the things for his tea. He sat down heavily at the table, starting to make his beverage.

Gilbert carried his coffee over and sat across from him. "Okay. What happened?"

"Nothing." Arthur's cheeks went pink and he was suddenly very focused on his tea, slowly steeping.

Gilbert rolled his eyes but didn't press the matter. He would find out eventually. Until then, he would leave Mr. Awkwardness alone. He grabbed his phone and whistled to Gilbird, who flitted over from his perch on the toaster and nestled in his hair. Gilbert left the kitchen and went to his bedroom.

Arthur pushed his tea away and let his forehead thunk on the hard wood of the table.

"Ugggggghhhhhh," he groaned. Two days. Two days and already things were getting complicated. It was like college all over again. "Screw this shit," he muttered in tired exasperation.


	21. In Which Alfred Is A Southern Belle

**HAPPY HETALIA 10TH ANNIVERSARY EVERYBODY! July 6th 2016!**

 **Sorry we disappeared for so damn long... Also we apologize for this chapter (and really, this whole story) being so boring right now, but we promise it picks up later!**

 **2cute4lyfe and I do not own Hetalia.**

* * *

Madeline began driving home but realized that Alfred was probably at the cast's house, so she changed course and drove there. She yawned as she drove and soon parked in front of the home. She got out in her purple scrubs and knocked on the door. There was a brisk chill in the air which made Madeline shiver as she waited for someone to answer the door.

Lovino opened the door, saw who it was, and let her inside. "They're all in the kitchen." He informed her and led her there. He was greeted in the hall by Antonio, who gave him an affectionate kiss on top of his head before ushering them both into the kitchen.

"We're getting ready to go." Antonio told Madeline. "Your brother invited us all over to dinner!"

Madeline raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Oh? Al's making dinner? Okay then, I should go make sure the house doesn't burn down, and I should change as well. See you there." She said, now slightly worried for the safety of her kitchen. She hurried back outside to her car and drove home.

While Madeline worried, Alfred finished up setting the table. He had everything ready for them. While he wanted to impress the cast, this dinner was mostly for his sister. He wanted to show Madeline that he was ready to grow up and act responsibly. He had a bottle of chilled red wine on the counter and some fresh homemade iced tea in a pitcher next to it. Alfred had also showered and changed his outfit so he was now wearing a light blue dress shirt with the sleeves scrunched up to his elbows while he worked. The shirt's color made his eyes pop and made his tan skin seem to glow.

Alfred finished up the food and placed it on the middle of the table. His presentation was much like a Thanksgiving feast. He wanted the actors to feel comfortable and have a nice relaxing dinner, instead of constant moving around and eating out. He placed a large platter in the center of the long table. On it was a mouthwatering golden brown roast chicken, seasoned with lemon zest and rosemary. Beside it was a bowl of green beans with warm Dijon vinaigrette, a fresh garden salad with several dressing options and a plate of home fries stacked on top of each other. He had made jalapeno poppers and corn fritters as well, and they sat on opposite ends of the table in porcelain serving bowls. The wine he set out was Syrah whine, a red wine that went perfectly with the main dish of roasted chicken.

The moment Madeline walked through the door of Alfred's and hers house, the hypnotic aroma of the dinner beckoned her to the dining room. Her stomach grumbled a bit and she poked her head in to check it out. She saw the beautiful set up and gasped. Her violet eyes examined the delicious looking food before her. Alfred stepped out from the adjoining kitchen, wearing a slightly nervous grin.

"Do you like it?" He asked eagerly.

Madeline smiled and went to hug him. "Alfie, this is amazing! The food looks incredible and the ambiance is lovely. I'm so impressed!" She gushed, looking over the table again.

Alfred beamed happily. "I worked so hard on everything, I'm glad you like it. I hope it will be enough food."

"True, those boys do seem to eat a lot." Madeline said in agreement.

Alfred rubbed his hands together. "Well, good thing I have a hefty desert planned too." He smirked proudly.

Madeline hugged him tightly one last time before dashing off to change her outfit into something better suited for the occasion. She pulled back her wavy blonde hair in a high ponytail and slipped on a fitted navy blue dress. It was long sleeved and fell to her knees, accessorized with a thin black belt. She slipped on simple black heels to finish off the outfit and went back downstairs to join Alfred in his last minute preparations before their guests showed up.

Matthias took Lukas by the hand and grinned. "I bet his cooking will be great!" He said in eager anticipation. Lukas nodded his agreement as Matthias tugged him out the door and hurried off towards the van, putting Lukas in shotgun and taking the driver's seat for himself. He honked the horn and hollered out the window, "C'mon! We're gonna leave ya behind!"

Gilbert hurried out the door with Ludwig in tow, who in turn had Feliciano clinging to him. Antonio and Lovino trailed after them, followed by Arthur and Francis and the two kids. Everyone piled into the van; it was a tight fit, but it being a large van there were enough seats for everyone.

They cruised down the street, Matthias requiring directions which he received from Arthur. They pulled into the driveway and Matthias whistled, peering out the window up at the large house.

"They really are rich," he marveled.

Arthur knocked politely on the door as the others fidgeted in eager anticipation around him.

"What do you think he made?" Matthias asked Lukas, who shrugged.

"How should I know?"

Inside, Madeline had heard the knock and went to greet them. She opened the door and smiled when she saw the crew. "Ah, perfect timing, it's all finished. Please, come in." She said politely and held open the door for them like a nice host.

Alfred was making sure everything was perfect before he opened the wine. He heard them come into the dining room and greeted them with the wine bottle. He was dressed up and acting like a completely different man than what they originally thought, laid-back and mature. He was a perfect host.

Francis surveyed the layout and smiled at Alfred. "It looks lovely." He complimented. Meanwhile Gilbert and Antonio were circling around the table, looking at everything like a pair of curious cats. Arthur sighed and rolled his eyes at them as he greeted Madeline.

Gilbert and Antonio came back around and regrouped with the rest of them. "It looks great, Alfred!" Antonio said brightly as Gilbert vehemently agreed.

"Southern style! It doesn't look great, it looks delicious!"

Alfred chuckled. "I appreciate it. You may sit wherever you like, and please help yourselves. Madeline, you sit too. I will get you all some drinks."

Madeline grabbed a pitcher of ice water for Alfred and she took the wine.

Alfred noticed Gilbert and Antonio eyeing the jalapeno poppers and smiled. "They're deep fried jalapenos stuffed with cheese and spices." He told them.

"Sounds spicy." Gilbert remarked. He popped a few in his mouth and chewed. Slowly tears beaded in his eyes. "Yup. That's hot." He said in a pained voice. Francis handed him a glass of water with a wry smile and watched as Gilbert guzzled it down. "Ah, thanks Francis. Alfred, those things are incredible!"

"He loves spicy food, he just can't handle it." Francis informed Alfred.

Alfred laughed. "I thought you would like them. I can make them whenever you want, they're great for get-togethers."

"Mm," Gilbert hummed in approval, "yeah, you definitely need to make these more often. They're awesome!" He was reaching for another when he was abruptly yanked away and forcibly sat down by Ludwig, who sat in the seat next to him.

He smiled and finished pouring ice water for everyone. Madeline walked around and poured wine for people who wanted some before sitting down herself. Alfred pushed in her chair then sat at the head of the table. The others followed suit, taking their seats. Arthur sat to Alfred's left, and the seat across from him was empty. To Arthur's right was Lukas, and down the rest of the left side of the table was Matthias, Antonio, Lovino, and Francis with Madeline seated at the foot of the table. To Maddy's right was Monique, who had Peter to her right. Feliciano sat between Peter and Ludwig, who sat next to Gilbert to keep an eye on him.

While Feliciano laughed at something Antonio had said, Francis inspected the wine, swirling the dark reddish violet liquid in his glass and breathing in the rich scent.

"Mm, berries and... chocolate? Interesting choice but a good one." Francis commended, giving his approval. "It's odd," he said to Madeline. "Your brother doesn't seem like much of a wine man. He picked this? He has a talent."

Madeline smiled fondly at her cousin. "Well, even though our father is a terrible waste of space, he did teach us to be cultured. Also, Alfred is a huge fan of food, so he loves watching those cooking shows and learning new tricks." She said, proceeding to sip her wine.

"Well, I can honestly say that this looks far better than any five-star restaurant that I've ever been to." Arthur said in great appreciation. The others murmured in agreement.

"Oh no, it's not gourmet, but I expected that you all would like a home cooked meal. I hope it's to everyone's liking. This is the first time I've tried this chicken recipe." Alfred spoke modestly, which was quite unlike him.

"Heh, maybe he can teach Arthur." Francis chuckled.

"Screw you, frog." Arthur retorted from the other side of the table before he resumed speaking with Alfred. "Thank you so much Alfred, it's very kind of you to do this for us. I know it will be delicious, even more so because it is homecooked."

"Well, I'm glad that you appreciate it." Alfred said to Arthur before he turned his attention to the rest of the table. "Go ahead and make your plates, we don't want it to get cold." He joked a bit and waited for them to make their plates. Madeline did the same and let the guests get food before the hosts.

The children went first, both for common courtesy and because Peter couldn't stay still in his seat with his mouth watering at the tantalizing sight and smell of the delicious food in front of him. Monique was trying to keep Peter calm, but internally was doing the same thing. Alfred wad the last one to get his food, letting Maddy go before him.

* * *

Gilbert sat back, letting out a contented sigh. "That was awesome, Alfred, you should cook feasts like this more often!" He said sincerely.

"I have to agree with the glutton," Francis said in only a slightly teasing tone, "it was very delicious. Thank you so much, Alfred. And thank you as well, Madeline."

A chorus of 'thank you's rang out around the table following Francis's words.

Alfred stood and smiled at them all. "I'm glad you all enjoyed dinner. You can take any leftovers you please, there is more than enough food to spare. I also made a cheesecake for dessert, if you're interested." Madeline rose to bring the dirty dishes to the kitchen, waving off offers of help. Meanwhile Gilbert was taking Alfred's offer to heart and was claiming a hefty portion of leftover jalapeño poppers.

"Cheesecake?" Lovino inquired, unable to help himself. Interest piqued, the normally aloof Italian fixed Alfred in a curious look and asked, "What kind?"

Alfred thought for a moment. "It doesn't really have a name; it's one of my mother's old recipes. It's rich and delicious and all the personal trainers hate it cause of its calories. It's topped with strawberries too." He said with a childlike gleam in his eye. As he spoke, Madeline carried out the enormous cheesecake, drizzled with an apricot glaze and topped with sliced strawberries. True to Alfred's words, the cheesecake was delectable. It was the biggest cheesecake any of them had ever seen, and they gorged themselves on it joyously.

Francis dabbed at his mouth with a napkin and set it back in his lap with an air of elegance. "That was delicious, Alfred. Thank you."

"Yeah, thanks Al!" Gilbert stretched and yawned. "It was great!"

They all chorused their agreeing sentiments, their sincerity bringing a smile to Alfred's face.

"Your mother must be a spectacular woman to have come up with this recipe." Arthur remarked.

"She is. She is too amazing for her own good. Just like her cooking." He chuckled and stretched, fatigue falling upon his muscles. Madeline took the dessert plates and went to wash them, Monique following her to help with the dishes.

"I see she taught you well." Arthur acknowledged with a slight smile playing at his lips.

"Ahhh, you would be a perfect housewife." Antonio hummed appreciatively, making Lovino roll his eyes and smack his arm.

"Idiot." He scolded.

Alfred grinned. "Damn right! I am an amazing housewife when I wanna be."

Madeline scoffed from the kitchen. "Tone it down out there, Mr. Mom!" She called teasingly.

Alfred pouted but quickly recovered. "Overall, thanks for coming over guys. Me and Madeline really appreciate it."

"Madeline and I," his sister corrected with a small smile.

Arthur stood and clapped him on the shoulder, all his previous awkwardness around the younger boy forgotten. "It was wonderful. Thank you for having us."

"Yeah man, danke!" Gilbert grinned. "And by the way, you gotta give me the recipe for those jalapeño poppers!"

Alfred nodded to both men and the others "No problem. Oh, and will do. I have a few other recipes you might like as well."

A loud _bleep_ from her phone interrupted the conversation alerted Madeline of an incoming text. Checking her phone, she saw the text was from her friend Ivan and she grinned. "Hey, what do you guys think about hockey tomorrow, and afterward we'll get lunch?"

"Hockey? Sounds fun!" Gilbert said with a shit-eating grin, imagining himself kicking ass at a sport he'd played only a few times several years ago.

"Yes, it could be interesting." Arthur mused.

"I happen to be rather good at hockey." Lukas piped up, a rare glint of excitement in his eyes.

Madeline's grin widened. "Awesome! I'll tell Ivan." She said and turned her attention back to her cell phone.

"Well, good thing there's a hospital up the road from that place." Alfred chuckled, reveling in the incredulous looks he received from the cast.

"What do we need a hospital for?" Feliciano asked nervously. While they spoke, Arthur withdrew a small bottle from his pocket and popped a pill into his palm, quickly dry-swallowing it before he could attract any attention. Gilbert shot him a worried look, furrowing his brow.

"Well, Madeline and her friend Ivan are very... passionate about hockey. The brute is 6 foot something with huge muscles and a thick Russian accent. He's a hockey coach's wet dream."

"Tall, manly, single, and fit? That's anyone's wet dream." Madeline joked.

Alfred rolled his eyes. "Yeah, if they don't mind the smell of vodka or communism."

"What exactly would communism smell like?" Ludwig asked with a raised eyebrow, but he was ignored.

"He sounds like a beast." Gilbert grimaced. He didn't have a good history with Russians.

Feliciano shrank into himself. "I think I'll just watch..." Lovino silently agreed with his twin.

"He is a beast. He's got no manors and he behaves like a rabid animal." Alfred said derisively.

Madeline sighed and shook her head. "He isn't at all like that, Alfred just hates him. He is a very nice guy, he is just really into hockey."

"Hypocrite." Alfred muttered.

"It'll be a good workout, at least." Madeline continued, raising her voice to be heard above her brother.

"Is there a story behind this hatred?" Francis inquired, mildly curious. "Or is it just one of those situations where there's no explanation and you just despise them?"

Alfred shrugged. "He came here in 6th grade, and I welcomed him with open arms. He's the one who was a dick first."

"If open arms means constant bullying, then yeah, very welcoming" Madeline scoffed as she leaned against the dining room door frame. "You were always trying to impress your friends by calling him gay because he hung out with me." Noticing the questioning looks her comment received, she decided to explain. "I was a very scrawny kid who wore boy's clothes and I cut my hair really short. This is the way I rebelled when moving here in 4th grade, so I looked like a little boy. Ivan became my best friend and since I was a cuddly child, I hugged Ivan a lot. Alfred and his goons, being dumb little boys, always called him gay, and made fun of his adorable accent and lisp."

"Imagine if he still had the lisp," Alfred chuckled.

"Well if he did it wouldn't matter, he would still kick your ass."

"This Ivan guy seems interesting." Matthias remarked, looking excited. "I can't wait to play against him."

"He'll destroy you." Lukas promptly shot him down.

Francis looked amused as he gazed at Madeline. "Did you two ever date? You seem like you'd be cute together, from what I'm hearing."

Alfred sneered at this, but Madeline merely smiled. "No, we were too close. Plus he leans towards men anyway."

"So I wasn't wrong when I called him gay as a child."

"Alfred, you are still gayer then he will ever be."

Gilbert snorted.

Arthur frowned at him and looked back at Madeline. "Leans towards? So he's bi? Or is he pan?"

"Pansexual, but he believes that love doesn't have anything to do with the body, but the soul inside." Madeline said.

"That's beautiful." Gilbert said, and even he wasn't entirely sure if he was joking or not.

Alfred sighed. "Can we stop talking about the communist asshole?"

"Is he actually communist?" Arthur asked Madeline with a frown.

"No, his grandparents were though. Under the USSR they were government officials, but his parents fled the country here because they were against communism. Alfred just calls him that because he can't make up any good insults."

"I see." Arthur chuckled. "I should have known, I suppose."

Maddy nodded and yawned. Alfred noticed and checked the time. "Oh damn, it's late. You guys must be tired."

"I'll walk you out," Madeline offered. "Be ready for hockey tomorrow. We'll meet at the hockey rink tomorrow at 8am. Don't forget to eat breakfast!"

"Of course. We'll be up bright and early!" Gilbert grinned, patting her head affectionately as he got up and strolled past. The rest of them followed suit, minus the touching, and with another chorus of 'thanks' and 'goodnight', they were off.

Madeline wished them a final goodnight and shut the door, turning to her brother who was not far behind her. "Behave tomorrow." She warned. "No bringing up any fights or anything."

"Yes, I know mom." He groaned.

"Now time to finish the dishes and call it a night." She sighed.


	22. In Which They Fear For Their Lives

**Yo, we're back! This chapter is the reason it took such an insanely long time to update. Against our better judgement, we decided to write the characters playing hockey, a sport which neither 2cute4lyfe and I have played, nor know much about. So thank you very much for waiting so patiently, and big thanks to 2cute4lyfe and I's friend who plays lots and lots of hockey and was willing to help us out!**

 **By the way, every time football is mentioned in this fanfiction, it is a reference to what we Americans call soccer. Unless it's Alfred, in which case it is American football.**

 **2cute4lyfe and I do not own Hetalia.**

* * *

 **Chapter 22**

They met once again the next day. Having been given directions to the hockey rink by Madeline, the gang arrived a bit early and so they milled about the parking lot, chatting excitedly about the itinerary for the day. Feliciano had decided to sit out for the game, preferring the safer sport of football. Lovino followed suit. Lukas and Matthias were decked out in full hockey gear, save for the skates, and they waited impatiently near the entrance. They hadn't played hockey since they last were in Scandinavia and they were itching to get back on the ice.

Alfred's car pulled up next to them and both blonde siblings got out, dufflebags in hand.

"Hey." Madeline greeted.

Alfred had a slight look of worry on his face but he pushed it away and smiled at the cast. "Hey guys! Who's ready to get hospitalized?" he asked with sarcastic enthusiasm.

Madeline smiled but rolled her eyes as she opened the front door for everyone. "Just go straight down the hall. Ivan is handing out the skates." she directed

Arthur followed a little apprehensively, but Gilbert was practically bouncing off the walls, excited to get on the ice and strut his stuff. He'd been ice skating many times before with Matthias, but he had never played hockey before and he was eager to try.

Francis fell into step beside Madeline and looked at her questioningly. "Alfred's joking, right? Your friend isn't really that merciless, is he?"

"Only towards Alfred and I. He most likely will go easy on people who are inexperienced. I, on the other hand, find it a tad difficult to give mercy." she replied, her gentle tone contrasting with her threatening words.

Alfred led everyone to the counter where a very tall and muscular man stood, clad in a white t-shirt. He had neat pale blonde hair with deep purple eyes, a child-like sweetness floating within them. Ivan smiled at them and the sight of it sent a shiver down Gilbert's spine. Such childish innocence did not belong on that face, not on a man that big. Ivan's eyes met his, and his smile grew a little tight, a little fake. The instant feeling of dislike must have been mutual, Gilbert thought.

He approached them, wrapping Madeline in a friendly embrace while glaring at Alfred over her shoulder, causing the latter to mumble something irritably under his breath. Arthur raised an eyebrow at this, exchanging a look with Francis, who merely shrugged.

Ivan released Madeline and moved on, shaking hands with all of them one by one. Gilbert noticed that his hands and arms were covered in old scars. His lips parted, the beginning of a question forming on them, but Ivan caught his gaze and scowled, withdrawing his hand from Gilbert's and walking away. Gilbert stared after him in confusion.

"Those are from his youth." Madeline said in response to his questioning look. "His grandfather was Khrushchev's right hand man and had a taste of firm discipline. Isn't that right Ivan?"

Ivan glanced at her expressionlessly as he nodded in agreement. It was obviously a touchy subject for him, and Gilbert almost regretted bringing the scars to attention. Ivan silently led them into the rink and allowed them to fit themselves for skates. The rink was already prepared for a game of hockey.

"Before we begin, how about those of you who either have never stated or who haven't skated in a while practice for a bit? I don't want my victory to be too easy." He spoke these words with a sickly sweet smile, but it didn't stop Gilbert from being unnerved.

"Why am I getting a bad vibe from this guy?" Arthur murmured to him.

"I dunno, but I am too. Whatcha think the chances of one of dying are?"

Arthur studied Ivan before he replied with, "90%, but I'm being generous."

Gilbert nodded in agreement, and they skated away from each other to do laps around the rink.

Alfred approached Ivan, sneering. "Try not to murder them, 'kay big boy? Also, stop wrapping your mutated arms around my sister. You're going to end up crushing her." he spat, obvious disgust in his voice.

Ivan's sweet smile curved down into a nasty scowl. "The only one who is in danger of getting killed here is you. Watch yourself or else it'll be you getting crushed." he threatened, looming over Alfred in all his 6 foot glory. He'd never been so grateful to be two inches taller than Alfred.

Alfred didn't back down and returned his glare tenfold. "You wouldn't." He challenged. Skating away, he went to Gil and Arthur, who had regrouped and were discussing funeral arrangements.

"You okay?" Madeline asked, having gone to Ivan when she heard them.

Ivan glowered after Alfred. "Yes, but your brother is an asshole."

Madeline rubbed his biceps to ease him. "Calm down mon amis, we shall destroy him on the ice." she whispered and kissed his cheek. "Just a few more minutes."

"Da moy dorogoy, my budem." Ivan ruffled her hair and kissed the top of her head, smirking at Alfred as his eyes strayed in their direction.

Madeline smiled and loosened her grip on her duffle bag. "I'm going to go change, can you just sum up to them how to play?" she asked as she started walking towards the girl's room.

Arthur looked up as Alfred drew near. "Oh, hello Alfred. We were considering black coffins with gold accents, what do you think?" He sounded bitter about it though, and Gilbert snickered.

"He's sore because I told him there was no way in hell we were doing coffins designed after our Hogwarts Houses."

"Outwardly simplistic, but the inside should be decorated for your Hogwarts house." Alfred suggested.

"That's a good idea. Thanks Alfred. Should we have a coffin made for you as well? You're clearly a Gryffindor, so red and gold interior." Arthur said.

Alfred chuckled. "I'll be fine." he smiled and looked over, saw Ivan's expression, and quickly looked back at Arthur and Gil. "On the other hand, that sounds great." he gulped.

"Okay, good choice. I'll add yours to the list." Arthur tapped something on his phone and skated to the edge of the rink, setting his phone aside where it wouldn't get hurt.

"Hey, I think he's calling us." Gilbert piped up, drawing their attention to where Ivan was. The three of them quickly skated over to hear what he was saying, but as it was merely an explanation on the rules of the game, they paid it no heed. Gilbert looked around for Madeline instead. "Hey, Al, where'd your sister go?"

Alfred also scanned over the area and shrugged. "Most likely to get her hockey stuff on." he replied as he boredly played with a loose string on his left sleeve.

As if on cue, Madeline emerged from the changing room and walked over to the benches and slid her skates on. She wore a long sleeved hockey jersey with some protective padding. Her hair was in a braided bun to keep it sturdy and out of the way.

Gilbert whistled appreciatively. "Damn. She's prepared. Now I'm definitely a bit worried." Madeline smiled at Gil before going to Ivan as they planned out the teams fairly.

"You should be." Matthias interjected with a grin. "Hockey is brutal!"

"He's reckless. It's really not that bad." Lukas sighed.

"Matthias is right in this circumstance. It gets pretty violent." Alfred agreed.

"Lots of sports do." Arthur pointed out.

"Especially hockey. You're got a surprisingly nonchalant attitude about this, Artie. You're in for a surprise." Matthias grinned. Arthur glared at him for the hated nickname but said nothing.

Alfred patted Arthur's shoulder. "You can always back down." He smiled, a challenging gleam sparkling in his sapphire orbs.

"Only a coward would back down." Arthur retorted, recognizing the challenge.

"Okie dokie, suit yourself." he grinned.

Ivan cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. The smile he wore was dripping with saccharine sweetness. "We've decided how the teams will be split. Please get into a single file line." He instructed.

"Ugh what are we? In Kindergarten?" Alfred whined.

Madeline smirked, her hands on her hips. "With that attitude you should be. Now stop whining and line up."

Alfred sighed yet did as he was told. As they lined up, Madeline stood in front of the line, pointing left or right to the person at the front of the line until the line was split into two teams. On Ivan's team were Gilbert, Matthias, Antonio, and Francis. On Madeline's team were Alfred, Arthur, Ludwig, and Lukas.

Matthias looked forlornly at Lukas, but the latter had a challenging glint in his eyes that said very clearly that by no means would he go easy on him just because they were dating. Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio cheered elatedly to find they were on the same team. Alfred let out a sigh of relief when he skated over to Madeline's side of the ice, but that ease soon went away as his eyes locked with Ivan's deep purple eyes. Alfred's gut churned nervously, instantly breaking their eye contact.

After the teams were sorted, the games began. Madeline took the right side of the ice, Alfred and Ludwig flanking her in the center of the ice. Arthur took the goalie position and Lukas claimed defense. On the left, Ivan was joined in the middle by Mathias and Gilbert. Antonio was sent to be the defense which left Francis as goalie.

Lovino dropped the puck and backed out of the way. Madeline and Ivan exchanged a momentary look before launching into a vicious battle for the puck. The victorious Ivan hooked it away from Madeline and hit it to Matthias, who darted away towards Lukas and Arthur at the goal.

"Sorry babe, but I can't lose!" Matthias crowed, going in for the kill. Arthur lunged to block it, but the puck slid past his stick and into the net.

"Oh Ivan honey, how nice of you to go easy on me." Madeline laughed and motioned for Arthur to hit the puck back to her so it can be dropped again.

"Fucking communist, probably cheating again." Alfred hissed. Alfred though, was not aware that the so-called "communist" heard him, and had now made him his target.

Lovino dropped the puck again, but this time, Madeline didn't wait; she darted forth and slapped it behind her to Alfred when Ivan went to steal it. Alfred darted down the right of the rink with the puck in tow, looking for an opportunity to pass as Ivan rushed up towards him. He hit it across the ice back to Madeline, who caught it with her stick and continued towards Francis, a determined scowl painted on her normally welcoming face. As Gilbert went to steal it, she moved the puck and checked into him as she slapped it into the goal.

Antonio instinctively flinched away from the vicious shot and then laughed sheepishly as Lovino screamed at him from the sidelines. "Haha, sorry~ It just caught me off guard! She's so aggressive!"

Gilbert moaned and whined pitiably from a few feet away, clutching at his elbowed chest. "Maddy, how could you? I thought we were friends." he whimpered.

"Awh, honey. I'm sorry but if you don't want to play with the big kids, you can go sit with the twins." She smirked and went to the middle of the ice.

Gilbert stuck his tongue out at Madeline and returned to his position at Ivan's flank. For the sake of his pride, he had to prove to her that all or his bragging would have been for naught.

"Alfred smiled knowing that he felt safer with her on his team, then quickly remembered that he was Ivan's target. He took a deep breath and hoped to god that Ivan wouldn't break anything...again.

Ivan met eyes with Alfred and smirked, conveying with his eyes the pain he would like to bring down upon him.

Lovino dropped the puck, and the vicious battle for possession between Ivan and Madeline began. Madeline went for it, smashing her hockey stick against his. "You should go for Alfred," she hissed, trying to maneuver the puck away from him.

Alfred gulped at her words. "Don't sell me out like that!"

Ivan hooked the puck away from her and skated off with it, ramming his shoulder into Alfred's chest to throw him off balance and onto his ass, laughing as he pelted across the ice to the goal.

Arthur's jaw set in hard determination. Years of football had trained him in the ways of the goalie. His honed reflexes would save his pride. He would not let another puck enter this net.

As Ivan drew near, Arthur readied himself, and as Ivan went in for the goal, he dropped to his knees and the puck ricocheted off of his knee guards. He grinned triumphantly while Ivan scowled and spat muttered curses. Madeline flew towards the puck and hit it at Lukas, getting it away from Ivan as quickly as she could.

"Aren't you supposed to be defense?" Matthias asked teasingly, sidling up to Lukas as the latter charged across the rink to make the shot.

"What's it to you?" He spat, making the shot. Antonio lunged for it, beating it back away from the goal. Ludwig stopped the puck's flight with his stick and pelted it back to Lukas, who elbowed past Antonio and shot the puck into the net. Francis swore angrily. That was another one he'd let in. He'd have to try harder.

Madeline thrust her fist up in the air victoriously and skated over to Ivan. "I guess I got the better team!" she bragged jokingly, smiling up at the blond man.

Alfred examined the scene, surprised by how smoothly this was going compared to how it could have happened. His favorite stars, playing hockey like it's no big deal, with him and his sister! It still felt so unreal to him.

Lovino dropped the puck in the center, and instantly Madeline snatched it and hit it back to Alfred. Gilbert's jaw set and he adopted a determined look. He skated forward and stole the puck from Alfred, speeding off to make a goal and restore his hurt pride. Ludwig fell in at his heels, intent on impeding him. Madeline saw the focused gleam in Gilbert's eyes and smirked. She skated after him, only to be blocked by Ivan. Alfred hissed and also followed after the albino man, hot on his heels.

Gilbert skated off, quick as he could, to the goal guarded by Arthur. He fired, but the puck was swiftly blocked by Lukas. But Matthias had caught the puck with his stick and he shot it back to Gilbert, who roughly elbowed both Alfred and Lukas out of the way and he went in for the kill. The puck slid just past Arthur's stick and into the net.

Alfred inhaled sharply as the elbow dug into him. "Damn, maybe Ivan and Maddy aren't the only ones scary on the ice."

"Nice shot, Gil." Madeline said approvingly as she moved past him. They returned to their formation, Madeline now paying more attention to Gilbert. She wasn't aware that he would be an actual threat, but she'd been proven wrong.

Unfortunately, his victory had brought a cocky smirk to Gilbert's face. He had always carried himself with an air of confidence-bordering-arrogance, but this was going beyond that. Ivan noticed and grimaced. Anyone who got too full of themselves on the ice was in for a world of hurt. He would have to knock him down a peg or two.

Madeline watched as Ivan eyed his partner and smiled. She began to map out a plan. If she was unsuccessful at retrieving the puck, then she would hope that Gil would get it; it would be the push that Ivan needed to charge at Gilbert, hopefully forgetting about the puck in all. As Lovino entered the middle, Maddy winked at Gil. "You're doing really good." she mouthed silently. Gilbert grinned in response. Alfred watched Madeline and smirked, picking up on her plan.

Ivan got his opportunity when Gilbert came into possession of the puck again, that overly-arrogant look crossed his face again. Ivan gritted his teeth and rammed his shoulder into Gilbert's, keeping on him and slamming him into the wall. His head hit the glass and he fell on his ass. Ivan took the puck from him and left him where he was, feeling only a sliver of guilt over attacking his teammate. Gilbert's cross-eyed gaze followed him angrily.

Gilbert held an icepack to his temple, hissing in pain. Ivan hadn't relented in his attacks, assaulting him every time he got the puck, and eventually Gilbert had given up. His whole body was sore from being shoved around.

Purple eyes round with concern stared down at him, eyebrows knit together. "Are you okay? Sorry I was a little rough with you."

He scowled up at Ivan. "Just fine and dandy, no thanks to you. Asshole," he spat.

Rather than looking abashed, Ivan grinned. "You were getting cocky. I had to put you in your place. We didn't win anyways, so..."

The game had ended in a draw after two hours of vicious play. Both teams were sat leaning against the wall, sweaty despite the chill of the air and trying to catch their breaths. Ice packs had been handed out, and more than half of them were nursing various bruises. Madeline was checking Alfred's bruises and making sure he was fine. After having finished, she went around to the other injured people, helping in any way she could.

Lukas and Matthias were standing, stretching tired muscles and looking exhilarated.

"Been a while, babe. Glad I didn't have to crush you."

"Hn," Lukas grunted in response. "That wouldn't have happened. I would have flattened you."

"I love when you flirt with me." Matthias said fondly. Lukas looked at him but didn't grace him with an answer.

Madeline walked passed the couple and went to Arthur, who was examining his leg. "What happened to your leg?" she asked, following his gaze and noticing the large bruise on his ankle.

"Hey, who got your leg?" Alfred echoed, going over to Arthur as well.

"I got myself." Arthur said ruefully. "I got a bit too enthusiastic. I just bruised it, nothing more." He got to his feet and fussed over Madeline's jersey, which had gotten ripped in one of her scuffles with Ivan. "You really do play too rough."


	23. In Which Siblings Bond

**Super short lil drabble here, entirely written by 2cute4lyfe~**

 **We do not own Hetalia.**

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Weeks had passed since the hockey game. It was October 2nd, and the temperature had dropped to a comfortable 73°F in downstate New York. Some of the leaves on the trees had already shed their glossy green and taken on shades of yellow, orange, and deep red. Two people sat together on a bench on a riverside, fishing poles in hand. Alfred and Madeline sat in a warm silence as they gazed at the rippling surface of the water. Fall wasn't exactly the best time to go fishing, but it was a tradition the two of them shared and one they would never forfeit.

"It feels different, doesn't it?" Alfred remarked while looking around at the multicolored trees.

"I understand, but it doesn't feel any worse. It's like a good different."

"Yeah..." Alfred sighed as the wind whipped around him, and his line tugged hard. He gasped and reeled in the line, the fish at the other end putting up a fight. Alfred won, pulling in the trout. "Dude! I got a trout!"

Madeline smiled and watched as her brother wrangled with the fish, finally getting it and putting it with the other. He sat back down next her and it fell back into silence. It was a peaceful silence but Alfred leaned his rod next to him and he turned to Madeline, who was staring ahead at the rippling water.

"Mads... Do you think Dad ever thinks about these trips anymore?"

She scoffed and looked down, her eyes now glued to the pebbles under her feet. "Probably not. He didn't even remember your birthday, let alone these trips. I'm starting to even hate calling him Dad."

"Don't say that Mads, He isn't the worst dad ever. He could have been mean and abusive..."

"Yeah, but he neglected us. He just paid for everything, without giving us a second thought."

Alfred took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, then put a hand on Madeline's back in a comforting manner. "I'm sorry for bringing it up. We don't need to talk about him. We can go back to fishing and talk about the ugly frog we saw earlier."

Madeline looked over at her brother with a soft smile. "It's fine Al, I understand. He was in your life more, so it's only natural for you to miss him more. You're his trophy kid."

"Was." Alfred corrected and gave her a small half-smile, showing that he didn't take it too hard. "Plus, I would much rather be an outcast kid with you than his perfect puppet."

Madeline giggled and leaned her head on her brother's shoulder, closing her eyes and appreciating the environment. "Love ya, bro."

"Love you too, Mads."


	24. In Which Some Shits Are Lost

**A total filler chapter, but still relevent.**

 **2cute4lyfe and I do not own Hetalia!**

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It was midafternoon on October 21st, and they were all seated on the floor in the living room at the cast's house. Piles of cards were in envelopes, ready to be mailed out. Each person had a notepad and pen in their lap, filled with scrawled ideas for costumes and decorations. A Halloween party was being thrown at Alfred and Madeline's house, and they were getting prepared. Naturally, this came with its own assortment of arguments.

"I think my costume should commemorate my Spanish heritage." Antonio said thoughtfully.

Lovino, who was operating on two hours of sleep and only one mug of coffee, had a nasty response. "Shut up, idiota, you're not even Spanish. You're fucking Portuguese. You were born in Lisbon."

A scarily aggressive look came over Antonio's face. "MY PARENTS WERE ON A BUSINESS TRIP, LOVINO!" Hearing the normally passive Spaniard shout would be terrifying to anyone who hadn't experienced it before. To the cast, it still was.

"Yep, okay. Sure."

"I COME FROM A LONG LINE OF SPANISH ANCESTORS!" He paused. "CONQUISTADORS! ...AND MATADORS!"

"Toni, I swear to fuck if you show up to the party dressed as a conquistador, you will be sleeping alone."

Here, Madeline had to step in, steering Antonio away and letting him brainstorm in peace in the other room. Gilbert and Francis were grinning, Lovino was smirking, but Feliciano was rolling his eyes.

"We only have ten days to do this. C'mon guys, let's be serious. We gotta work!"

Madeline returned to the couch and took a deep breath. "Feliciano is right, let's get back on track. So, let's throw out some costume ideas. Francis, you said you weren't sure. Does anyone have any ideas?" she asked, looking around. There was a silence for a moment until Arthur spoke up.

"Hey Francis, why not be Joan of Arc?" He asked, completely stonefaced. "You have the hair for it... And I can be the fire if you want. It can be a theme."

Francis deadpanned. "...really, Arthur? Really?"

"Or you could be the French citizen and I'll be the guillotine."

"You need to stop."

"On second thought, you could be Pepe le Pew. You already smell the part."

"That's inaccurate. I smell wonderful."

"But I guess you don't even have to bother with dressing up. You could just be your normal frog self. People love amphibians. Maybe you'll even find a blind princess to kiss you and turn you human."

"That's just dumb."

Arthur opened his mouth to spit out another rude suggestion, but Gilbert leaned across the circle and put a finger on Arthur's lips.

"Shh. He's had enough. Shhhhhh."

Maddy looked over at Francis. "Why don't we go get some snacks?" she offered and walked with him into the kitchen, once again diffusing an issue.

Alfred just watched Arthur, holding back giggles. "Damn... you are really salty today. Did someone slip a little too much NaCl in your morning coffee?"

"Look at you, using Chemistry terms." Arthur said appraisingly, "I'm proud."

"He's right though. What sparked that?" Matthias asked, cocking his head curiously.

Arthur shrugged. He was just in that sort of mood, and Francis was fun to tease.

"Well, Luke and I are going as Thor and Loki. Thanks for that suggestion, Alfred!" Matthias said brightly, ignoring Lukas's irritated noise at the nickname.

Alfred chuckled. "No problem bro."

Francis appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame. "Hey Arthur, can you come here for a moment? Roderich just texted me. It's urgent."

"Sure." Arthur rose to his feet and joined Francis in the kitchen. "What's the matter? Is everything okay? Did something happen with the show?"

Shaking his head, Francis led him to his own room down the hall and grabbed one of his travel bags. "You forgot to take your medicine, right?" he asked quietly, searching through the bag until he found an orange pill bottle.

"Oh... Yeah, I guess I did." Arthur quickly popped a pill, dry swallowing it with ease. "Thanks. Sorry."

"I need to call your pharmacist and get more antipsychotics." Francis remarked, looking at the small bottle which only contained three more pills. "Are you hungry? You know it kicks in quicker with some food."

"I'll be fine. We should get back to everyone else. They're probably getting suspicious." Arthur replied, glancing away.

Francis walked closer and kissed his forehead. "I'll tell them you are on the phone with Roddy, you can stay in here for a moment and take a breather."

"Okay," Arthur said softly. Francis slipped out the door, joining the others in the living room. Arthur sat down on the bed and looked contemplatively at the floor. He still felt bad about what he did weeks back, but he maintained that it was for the best. He didn't know whether Francis harbored any real feelings for him, but as he held no romantic feelings for Francis, he knew that it was wrong to use him like that. Francis was a good friend to him, he had been for almost twenty years, and he couldn't bear to do anything to hurt their friendship. It was best to be careful. Besides, his illness seemed to be getting worse. Yes, it was best to keep his distance lest he hurt Francis.

In the living room, Francis explained that Roderich was nagging Arthur about not returning his texts, which happened to be a common occurrence anyways, so it was an acceptable excuse.

Gilbert nodded in understanding. "Yeah, Roderich is pretty anal about that. I have no idea how Elizaveta puts up with him."

"Headphones and loud music?" Francis chuckled, going back into the kitchen to help Maddy with some snacks.

"So, back to costumes. Gil, you mentioned something about Dante right?" Alfred asked.

"Yeah, I've been pretty into that game lately and I have the hair for it." Gilbert shrugged. "It should be an easy enough costume. So why not?"

Alfred nodded. "Awesome! I think that will look great. Ludwig and Feliciano, any ideas for you guys? I bet matching costumes would be super cute."

"We're going as the Incredibles." Feliciano said, so happily that Ludwig couldn't protest. Instead, he glared at Gilbert wordlessly. Gilbert was the one who showed Feliciano that movie. He did this. Noticing the glare, Gilbert responded with a shit-eating grin.

"Yo, sweet! Anyone else sure about their costume? Lovino, what about you?" He asked.

"I'm going to embrace my culture and be a classic Italian mobster." Lovino replied as Madeline and Francis returned with a tray of cheese, crackers and grapes for everyone to nibble on.

Francis sat down and took a grape. "Monique and I are going to be Men in Black."

"That's really fucking cute." Gilbert said, popping a grape into his mouth. "No, I'm serious. That's the cutest thing I've heard all day. Also, these grapes are fantastic."

Monique smiled. "We will look so cool, and we can take you aliens back to Area 51!"

"Shush now, that's classified information." Francis said playfully.

"What are you going to be, Peter?" Felicano inquired with a serene smile. "How about a cartoon character, or a cute alien?"

"No, I'm going to be a dead kid! A cursed spirit that must remain on earth, stuck in never ending purgatory." Peter said excitedly.

"You have been watching too much television." Monique commented.

"Oh." Feliciano's face fell. "That's nice. ...did Arthur say what he was going to be before he left?"

Francis shrugged. "No, but he will probably be something old and classic... Like a knight or something similar to that."

"That doesn't sound comfortable," Madeline said, taking another grape.

"We should make suggestions for him." Matthias said. "He likes Doctor Who. He could do something from that."

"The Tenth Doctor!" Peter squealed.

Alfred thought for a moment and remembered reading something once online about Arthur liking pirates. "What about a pirate?" He suggested.

"Oh, that's a good idea!" said Gilbert.

"Yeah, he'd like that." Francis agreed.

Arthur reentered the room, paused, and looked around in slight confusion. "Sorry, Roderich had a lot to talk about. …did I miss too much?"

"We picked out your costume. You're going to be a pirate!" Matthias said cheerily.

He smirked. "Okay. That'll be fun."

Alfred grinned. "Awesome. Now that that problem is solved, let's talk about food. Who wants to make Halloween-themed snacks?"

"Lud and I will!" Gilbert volunteered instantly. "We baked all the time back home! What do you want us to make? Cookies? Cupcakes? Cakes? Brownies?"

Arthur stared at him. "Gil. Calm down. You don't have to make them all right now."

Madeline smiled at his enthusiasm. "Thanks guys. I'd really appreciate that."

Alfred scribbled on his notepad. "Okay, drinks? Maddy and I have our signature punches, but are there any special recommendations?"

"Kid friendly punch." Arthur said with a side glance at Peter and Monique.

"Yeah, we can't have you getting drunk, right Arthur?" Gilbert drawled, ignoring the glare he received in return.

Madeline nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, we always make nonalcoholic punch."

"Any food allergies that we should know about?" Alfred asked.

"Just Gil's crawfish allergy. Besides that, we're good." Arthur replied.

"Oh yeah, okay. Usually we have mummy dogs, deviled eggs, finger sandwiches, and a few other things not including the desserts." Madeline added, Alfred vigorously scribbling on his paper.

"Ooh, extravagent~" Gilbert laughed. "Lud, we're gonna have a lot of fun. We should probably start now."

Ludwig sighed, resigned to his fate. Gilbert's backup plan if the acting industry had failed was to open a Beilschmidt Brothers Bakery. Once completely enamored with the idea, Ludwig now was beginning to wish that their Vati had never taught them how to bake. He was obsessed with it.

"You guys can plan out what you'll need, and I'll pay for the ingredients." Madeline offered.

"You don't have to. It's not a big deal," Gilbert assured them. "We love baking!"

For a little while longer they continued to discuss possible finger foods, but it was getting late. Madeline and Alfred both decided it was time to get home.

"Thanks for helping us plan everything." Alfred smiled as he slipped his notebook in Madeline's purse.

"Yeah, no problem. See you!"


	25. In Which Stuff Finally Happens

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 2cute4lyfe was in her element for this chapter- all of the decoration descriptions are courtesy of her!**

 **We do not own Hetalia!**

* * *

It's October 31st, Halloween, when the ghouls and goblins come out to play.

Since they were children Alfred and Madeline had thrown a Halloween party, including the best music, food, and the best scares.

The mansion was large, with a circular driveway, which was normally kept clean, but not tonight. Dead leaves were scattered all over, spider webs covering the bushes and porch railing. Grave stones were set up in the center of the driveway on the patch of grass and plants. There was a hole in the ground in front of one of the taller gravestones, a bloodied coffin laying open inside the ditch, deep scratch marks on the on the lid of the coffin. A small blood trail led back up to the house, whose only light was a flickering bulb. There was police tape blocking half of the porch off, only letting guests enter the home.

Upon entry they are welcomed into the foyer, a small room with an elaborate wood floor, coat racks on the wall all around for the guests. It was lit better than the porch with a beautiful chandelier hung from the ceiling, a few fake webs covering the glossy metal. A round dark wood table covered in black cloth stood in the center of the room, a bowl of candy occupying the space. Fog was leaking into the small room from the main corridor, which was dark with only candles lighting the way down. To the left was the living room doorway. Fog blanketed the wooden floors, so thick that you couldn't see your feet. The living room itself was the main gathering area, with a couple of chairs stood around a tall stone fireplace. Black fabric was draped on the walls. Once lit, the fireplace would give the room an orange glow. Spider webs stretched around the chairs with little plastic spiders stuck in them.

Alfred stood in the center wearing a body hugging Captain America suit. He had the head piece as well but had decided not to wear it while mingling. He was scanning the rooms to make sure everything was perfect, and so far this room checked out. Right before he left, he lit the fire and through some salts in to change the colors of the flame. He left and continued down the hall and went into the larger family room, which was organized so people had more space to chat and dance. Fog also coated the floor in this room, adding an extra flare. Music was pulsating through the walls, this room being the heart of the beat. Purple and green lights engulfed the room. A group of skeletons leaned against the walls. Another leaned against an armchair, holding a bowl of candy. The windows had blood splatters on them and there was a hatchet sticking out of the wall next to the door frame.

Alfred looked over his work, all of the covered furniture and the small details, and smirked proudly.

"Oh, there you are."

He turned around and saw Madeline. She was wearing a tight rippled dark gray dress with a sweetheart neckline, tattered ends, and a few small holes. Bruises were dotted on her legs and arms. She was wearing dark glittery eye shadow with dark maroon lipstick, which contrasted with her pale features.

"'sup?"

"Guests are pulling in and I would like you to greet them while I get all the drinks and food set out."

"No problem. It's probably Arthur and the others anyway." Alfred smiled and hurried towards the door, eager to see them.

The cast piled out of the van, looking around appreciatively. A few members of the cast were missing, presumably because their costumes had taken a bit longer to be perfected.

Gilbert whistled, decked out in his Dante outfit, complete with Rebellion on his back and the twin pistols Ebony and Ivory in holsters. "Damn. This must have taken quite some time." he said, impressed.

"I love the details!" Arthur gushed, gazing at the blood trails. He was dressed as a pirate, compliant with Alfred's suggestion. The bright green of his eyes contrasted wonderfully with the deep scarlet and gold of his outfit. The only bit of green he had on him was a cravat brooch almost the exact color of his eyes, but it was just enough. On his head was a hat with gold accents and a fluffy white plumed feather.

Alfred stood on the porch, opened the door once they got closer. "You all look great! Madeline is in the family room straight down the hall. Feel free to take some candy." he said, motioning to the bowl in the foyer.

Gilbert, Arthur, Matthias, and Lukas went inside to admire the rest of the decorations, but Ludwig and the twins hung back. Lovino was waiting for Antonio and Feliciano wanted to wait with him. Francis and Monique walked around, looking at the decorations.

One of the spare Volkswagens pulled in and parked next to the van, and Antonio stepped out of the driver's side, Peter hopping out of the passenger side.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me. I TOLD YOU NO CONQUISTADORS!" Lovino shouted angrily.

Antonio was dressed in a traditional conquistador outfit, and for once he didn't look sheepish when Lovino yelled. Instead, he returned it. "It's who I am, Lovino!"

Alfred laughed. "Okay, you guys can stay here and fight, but we're going inside. We have candy around the house, but snacks and refreshments are in the kitchen."

Peter grinned as he scurried inside. Lots of makeup had given him flawlessly pale skin with deep set dark eyes. His hair was messed up and fake blood was splattered on his torn clothes.

Madeline finished setting out the food and turned around to see Gilbert and Arthur in the family room. "Hey guys!" She smiled and walked towards them. "You guys look really cool!"

"You too, Maddy! Damn, that's a good look for you." Gilbert looked her up and down, grinning. "Hot."

Madeline blushed, thankful for the dark lighting. "Thank you. Feel free to grab some refreshments from the kitchen. We have nonalcoholic punch and we have an adult punch."

"Oh, thank God. Arthur, you stay away from the adult punch." Gilbert shoved him lightly away into the kitchen. Arthur got the message and walked away, leaving Gilbert and Madeline alone in the foyer.

"The house looks incredible." Gilbert complimented. "Did you plan all of this?"

Madeline nodded, adjusting the fake spider webs. "Yeah. Alfred and I love throwing parties, especially for Halloween. He gets so into it. We've been planning this for months. Even the bathrooms are decorated."

"Wow. Oh- Lud and I's desserts are in the van. Can you help me carry them in?" Gilbert led her out to the cast's van and opened up the back, unloading stacks of boxes full of cookies, cupcakes, mini pies, and four whole cakes.

"That's a lot of sugar!" She gasped, grabbing a box of zombie cupcakes and examining them. "This is amazing! You guys really went all out!"

"Lud and I are gonna have a family bakery someday! Once I'm all done acting, that is. I'm really excited. He's excited too. He just won't show it." Gilbert chattered away as the pair of them unloaded boxes and carried them into the house. "You should be an investor!"

Madeline giggled as they brought the sweets into the kitchen. "I would love to unload money into that. That sounds like a great idea. Two brothers, baking against the odds. Are you going to have specialty cupcakes?"

"Of course! We'll be a quaint little shop in Germany. There'll be the typical things that you can buy in shop, but then you can make custom orders for anything! Cupcakes included." You could tell just by listening that this was something that he was very passionate about.

"It sounds amazing. I guess I'll have to take a lot of vacations to Germany so I can have some sweets."

"Yeah, you will!"

"Do you have a favorite?" Madeline asked as they finished unloading and began unpacking the goodies.

"I like the red velvet gore cupcakes." He pointed to a big box filled with cupcakes decorated with bloody severed body parts. "Where do you want these?" He asked, holding up a box of cute pumpkin shaped cookies.

"I have cute serving trays in the cabinet, just let me get 'em." Madeline went into the bottom cabinet and pulled out a box. She opened the box and began assembling the 3 foot display shelves. "These are so handy. We can put them around the house with the candies if you want, and leave the pies and cakes in the kitchen."

"Okay, great." He got to work arranging the cookies on platters, an adorable look of deep concentration on his face as he did so. He did it like it was an art, making sure each cookie was in the perfect position. The pumpkin cookies had frosting faces, ranging from cute and smiley to angry with slanted eyes and jagged teeth. When he finished with that plate, Madeline snagged a happy pumpkin cookie, leaving a small gap in between the cookies. She giggled at the look on Gilberts face and turned to set up the other tray.

A look of absolute betrayal swept across Gilbert's face before he hurriedly starting fixing them. "How could you, Maddy? I trusted you!"

She smirked as she finished the second display. "I had to make sure they were yummy, and they are delicious! Thank you!" she said happily as she began placing the red velvet gore cupcakes.

"Thanks, I suppose." He frowned at the uneven amount of cookies, but there was nothing he could do about it, so he heaved a sigh and went to arrange the tiny pies on platters. "I'll put the cherry pies on this one, the blueberry pies on this one, apple on this one, and pumpkin on this one. Kay?"

Madeline nodded. "Yeah, no problem. You have full creative control of your goodies." She finished with the red velvet gore cupcakes and did the rest of the cupcakes on the other platters. The sweets were soon placed on their displays. The cakes had been cut and were contained in glassware, left on the island counter for easy access.

Gilbert smiled at Madeline, grateful for the help. "Thanks a lot! You're awesome. It looks great!" The sound of tires on pavement drew his attention to the window, and he stared outside excitedly. "People are arriving! I can't wait to meet your friends!"

Madeline shrugged, indifferent. "More like decent acquaintances. Most of them are Alfred's high school buddies, their friends, and some of my coworkers."

She walked out of the kitchen and went down the hall to the door, where Alfred was standing ready to greet his friends. Madeline greeted people as well as loads of people piled into the house and the music got turned up. More were to come, so Alfred remained in the foyer.

The cast looked anxiously between themselves. They were excited before, but now they were a bit nervous about meeting Alfred's and Madeline's friends. This sort of thing hadn't gone well for them on previous occasions. Much to their relief, no one paid any special attention to the cast because they were too busy catching up with their other friends or already trying to drink themselves into a coma. Alfred and Madeline greeted the last guest and went to join the party.

One girl, wearing a sexy sailor costume, approached Arthur. "Hey there Captain," she winked.

"Hey," replied Arthur. He looked the girl up and down. "I like your costume."

The sailor girl smiled. "Thank you! Now what is your name, Captain? I'm Zoe."

"Arthur. Are you a friend of Alfred's, or a friend of a friend?"

"Alfred's friend. He was my math tutor in school. That kid is insanely good at math."

"Really? Huh. He doesn't seem like it." Arthur looked over at where Alfred was mingling.

"Oh yeah, he's a total mathlete. But let's not worry about him right now. So tell me Captain Arthur, could I get you some punch?" Zoe asked, playing with her hair.

"You could, but I'm not sure that it's advisable. I can't hold my liquor." Arthur warned her.

Zoe giggled and put a hand on his arm. "Oh let loose, it's a party! Let's just have fun, okay? I'll be right back." She winked at him and left for the kitchen. Alfred eyed her as she left and saw Arthur still standing there, so he approached him.

"Hey, Alfred." Arthur greeted. "That girl's nice. She said you were her math tutor."

Alfred was taken aback and scoffed. "I think she is thinking of my friend Al, not me." He chuckled awkwardly.

"Is Al short for Alfred?" Arthur teased. "You don't have to be embarrassed that you're good at math. You should be proud! A lot of people aren't. Like Gil. He sucks at math."

"Well, if you say so. Thanks Arthur." Alfred rubbed the back of his neck, still embarrassed by the fact.

Zoe returned with two plastic cups of the alcoholic punch. She saw Alfred and giggled. "'Sup nerd, how's it going?" she asked while handing Arthur his cup.

"Thanks, Zoe." Arthur took sips of his punch while Zoe and Alfred got caught up. Alfred joked with her for a second but was soon dragged off by a friend.

Zoe smiled at Arthur. "Sorry about that. So, tell me about yourself."

"Well, I'm a Taurus. I'm bisexual. I'm from England... any of this catch your interest?" Arthur listed off, choosing to not mention his career for the time being.

"Bisexual? That's pretty cool. I once dated a closeted gay guy. It was an interesting experience, to say the least." she snickered.

"Did you help him come out? You should be proud. I would be." Arthur smiled at the thought.

Zoe nodded. "In the end, yes. He got a really hot boyfriend - but he wasn't as hot as you."

Arthur chuckled. "I'm flattered. I don't suppose you're dating anyone at the moment?"

Alfred, who was standing nearby, heard that and quickly looked over. Her body language was just screaming need and attention, but he wasn't going to let her get what she wanted. So naturally, he 'accidently' kicked a guy in the shin, and when the man turned around, he shoved Alfred. Alfred stumbled back and almost landed on Arthur.

"Oh shit! Sorry man, that damn meathead shoved me into you."

"It's fine," Arthur raised an eyebrow but said nothing about it. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Well, I was before that asshole wanted to start shit." he chuckled. "Have you guys tried one of the cookies? They are awesome!"

"Oh, Gil's pumpkin cookies? Yeah, they are! Zoe, have you tried one?" Arthur asked.

Zoe shook her head. "Wanna grab me one? They sound super yummy!" she asked Arthur.

"Yeah, she really needs to try one!" agreed Alfred.

"Sure!" Arthur went off to the kitchen to get a few cookies and another cup of punch for himself.

As soon as Arthur was gone, Alfred turned to Zoe. "So, have you met his boyfriend yet? Great guy. They've been dating for two years now. They're really cute together!"

Zoe sighed. "I should have known. He was so hot; of course he has a boyfriend. Is he here?"

"Yeah, he's the guy with the long blonde hair and nice suit."

"Well that's disappointing."

"Hey, there is this hot single guy you'd love though. Remember your crush from high school? He's totally free, you should go talk to him!" Alfred pointed out and patted her back.

"Okay! Thanks Alfred." She smiled and left. Alfred smirked victoriously and waited for Arthur.

Arthur really couldn't help himself; he downed one cup of punch while in the kitchen and got himself another, and then another. What was in this? It was fantastic! He got himself another cup and carried that and the cookies back to where Alfred was waiting, already feeling the effects of the alcohol.

"H-hey! Where'd Zoe go?" He asked, slightly upset.

"She's having boyfriend troubles and he just showed up. Guess they aren't taking a break anymore. They were always on and off."

"Oh... That sucks..." Arthur took another swig of punch and looked at Alfred appraisingly. "H-hey, Alfred! Did your outfit come with steroids or did you have to buy them separately?"

Alfred stared at him. "Well shit. Um, neither?" He said, startled by the comment. In a show of poor timing, Antonio and Lovino walked by, brushing against Arthur's arm.

"Toni!" Arthur shouted unnecessarily, considering how close they were. "Toni! Why are you dressed as a conquistador? The only things you've conquered are Lovino's ass and the churro cart at the mall!"

"YOU'RE GONNA FUCKING DIE, ARTHUR!" Lovino screamed.

"Bring it on!" Arthur challenged, downing the rest of his drink and stumbling backwards as he threw out his arms in challenge.

Alfred laughed so hard he had to lean back against the wall. "Holy shit! Harsh! That was amazing!"

Arthur opened his mouth to start talking more shit, loose-lipped in his tipsy-ness, but Alfred grabbed him by the hand and hauled him off, away from the crowd.

* * *

Music was pounding through the speakers, making it a little hard to hear anything else, but setting the right mood for a party. Ludwig and Feliciano weren't dancing and Gilbert was third wheeling, but he didn't seem to mind. The carefree smile on his face spoke only of elation, not bitterness. The smile widened as Madeline joined them and he immediately latched on and coerced her into dancing with him, perhaps to make himself appear less ridiculous.

Madeline, of course, agreed and laughed when he danced in a silly manor. "Dante, the dancing queen!" she joked and joined him.

"Don't laugh, I'm great at this. But this sword is getting in the way." He took it off and set it against the wall. "Alright, now I'm free to be the dancing queen! And will you, dearest Madeline, be my king?"

Madeline took his hand and bowed. "I accept. I will try to keep up with your amazing dancing, but no promises."

The music changed to a slower song and Gilbert grinned, wrapping an arm around Madeline's waist and tugging her close. He looked down at her with a warm look in his eyes. "Something tells me that you're good at slow dancing. Wanna lead?"

Madeline smiled, blood rising to her cheeks. She danced along, leading, her arms around his neck. "I don't mean to brag, but I am a slow dancing master."

"Perfect. Maybe you can teach me; I'm not that good." Gilbert laughed.

"Oh, you're fine. You're not stepping on my feet, so that's a plus."

"If I do, feel free to stomp mine." Gilbert said, playful yet completely serious.

Madeline smirked and gently placed her feet on his while they danced, so he was moving them both. "How about this?" she asked, closer to his face so he could hear her better.

"This is good." He said softly. He was suddenly hyperaware of everything, from the way she was looking up at him to the way she smelled. Her perfume was a pleasant flowery scent, not overly sweet and not cloying. He wondered if he smelled okay. Her face was against his chest. He really hoped he smelled okay.

Madeline closed her eyes, content in the state they were in. It only lasted another minute before the music became rowdy again. She stepped off his feet and smiled. "Thanks for that. Hey, could you get me a drink? My throats a little dry."

"Yeah, of course." He backed away from her and hurriedly went to the kitchen to get two cups of punch. What was that? Maybe he needed a drink too...

Madeline smiled fondly as she watched him run off. She leaned against the wall, next to his sword. She was barely there ten seconds before a guy came up to Madeline. She remembered him. He was one of Alfred's old football friends. This guy was one of the biggest dicks she'd ever met.

"Hey, Miranda right?"

"Madeline."

"Ehh close enough." he chuckled. "I got the M right."

"Wow. You did. Good job. Too bad I left my gold stars in my car." She sighed with a roll of her eyes and looked anywhere else but at him.

Gilbert was making his way through the crowd with the two cups of punch when he saw a big burly man chatting with Madeline, who didn't look at all interested. His jaw clenched and he pushed his way more determinately through the writhing mass.

"A little sassy? I'm down for that. You rich chicks always are."

Madeline sighed again. "I'm really not interested, so please drop it."

"Hey babe, sorry I took so long. It's so crowded." Gilbert said loudly, pushing the interloper aside so he could stand face to face with Madeline. Before he could think twice about it, he leaned down and kissed her. Madeline froze for a moment but kissed back. After Gilbert pulled away, she smiled at the guy.

The man sighed out of annoyance. "Ugh. You're not worth it anyways. Later girl, later Jack Frost." He groaned and left, hunting down another unfortunate female.

"Jack Frost?" Gilbert scoffed. "How original. Like I haven't heard that one before. …Sorry about that, Maddy."

Madeline smiled sheepishly. "No problem at all. Thank you for that, boyfriend~" She teased and sipped her drink.

Gilbert's cheeks tinged pink. "It made the guy leave you alone, so I don't regret it."

"Thank you. Hey, do you want to help me with something? I just want to make sure that the LEDs aren't dying again. Wanna come with?" She asked, finishing her drink and placing the empty cup on a table.

"Uh, yeah. Sure, why not?" He grabbed his sword and followed her as she led him down the hall.

Madeline led him outside; the backyard was riddled with fake spider webs and fake spiders. LED lights gave the webs an eerie glow. "Thanks again, for helping me out."

"No problem." As Gilbert helped her fix the placement of the LED lights, he couldn't help but notice that they were the only ones outside, and that it was very quiet.

"To be honest, it was getting stuffy in there. I just needed some air." She admitted and finished fixing the LED.

"That's what happens when a whole bunch of people are in one room together." Gilbert pointed out.

"I know," she said. "Oh! You have something on your jacket!" Madeline leaned in close and wiped away the smudge. "There, all clean."

"Shit, what was it? It won't stain, will it? I liked this jacket." Gilbert said worriedly, looking down and trying to see where it was.

Madeline shook her head. "No, it's fine. You're all good." She smiled and looked up at him. She seemed to be waiting for something.

"Oh. Okay," he looked at her oddly. "Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face too?"

"Yep." she smirked.

"Where? Here?" He put his finger on his cheek. "Here?" The finger moved to the corner of his mouth. "Is it frosting? Oh no, it's frosting, isn't it."

Madeline shook her head. "No, it's right here," she whispered as she leaned up and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Gilbert's eyes widened, but he didn't protest. His hands slowly rose to rest on her waist as he returned the kiss.

They were interrupted by the door swinging open, Alfred pulling along a tipsy Arthur. When he saw the two of them, he froze and then screamed. "AGHH! FUCKING SHOOT ME!" And he promptly spun on his heel and dragged Arthur back inside. Madeline pulled away and giggled, watching her brother flee.

"Hey Gil! Hey Maddy! Nice!" Arthur wolfwhistled as he was hauled away again.

Gilbert laughed as Alfred fled, looking gleefully down at Madeline. With his hands on her waist, he pulled her closer and kissed her hard. Madeline deepened the kiss, but pulled away after a minute. They stood, just hugging in complete silence, listening to the faint music from the house and the sound of each other's gentle breathing.

The crisp October air brushed against them, but it didn't matter.

Everything was at peace.


End file.
